Same Sex Marriage Essay

Gay marriage should be legalized. Gay people should have the same rights as everyone else. They are being discriminated against. In this county we have always fought for equality. This issue is no different. Minorities, women, gay people and everyone else should be treated equally in the eyes of the law. Church and state are separate in this country. Shouldn’t gay people have the right to marry also? What about interracial marriage? Should that be legalized either? Everyone deserves equality; gay marriage is in no way hurting anyone. Gay people are no different than we are, we are all human beings. Who we chose to love should be no one else’s business but our own. Denying these marriages is a form of minority discrimination. “America was founded on the concept that the majority should rule, but the rights of minorities should be protected. It is the main reason we have a Bill of Rights as well as anti-slavery and equal protection amendments” (Pappas, Stephanie). Denying marriage to a homosexual couple is no different than denying marriage to Hispanic or black couples.

The first state that allowed same sex marriage did so as a result of court decision. The order of the states that started to allow same sex marriage is as follows, Massachusetts in 2004, Connecticut in 2008, Iowa in 2009, Vermont and New Hampshire in 2009, New York in 2011, Maryland and Washington in 2012 and Maine 2012. Gay Marriage disputes started in 1993 when the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that laws’ denying same sex couples the right to marry violated state constitutional equal protection rights unless the state could show a compelling reason for such discrimination. Since then many states have taken the route to define marriage as a relationship between a man...

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...munities of citizens of the united states, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (Kellard, James).

It doesn't hurt society or anyone in particular. A marriage is a relationship between two people. How does it hurt society or people not involved in the marriage? It is a personal commitment that really is no one else's business. Society shouldn't be dictating what two people can or can't do when no one else is hurt in the process. If the church or certain groups disapprove, that's their right, but it isn't their right to stop it. Marriage is more than a legal status. It affects many things in society such as tax filing status, joint ownership of property, insurance benefits, and agency law. It affects critical medical decisions.