The Gay Marriage Debate

1292 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: the legality of gay marriage

The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. As of January 2014, only seventeen states in the U.S. had legalized gay marriage, allowing same sex couples to marry. The other 33 states have constitutional amendments that deny the freedom to marry among same sex couples (Where State Laws). Gale states that homosexual relationships and even gay marriages have existed since the beginning of recorded history. However in 1970, when gay couples desiring marriage licenses were denied, the battle for equal rights exploded (Gay Marriage). The topic of the legalization of gay marriage offers much debate, with positives such as the United States greatly benefiting, it does not ruin the sanctity of marriage, and homosexuals being granted the same rights as heterosexuals and negatives such as opposing popular religious views, changing the orthodox definition of marriage, and gay marriage harms our children.

The legalization of same sex marriage, when often disputed, is said to benefit the United States in many ways. It has been recorded that by allowing same-sex couples to marry, the state receives an economic boost. New York for example received $259 million into its economy after allowing same sex couples to marry. The legalization of gay marriage also promotes a state of wellbeing amongst LGBT people (7 Ways Murray). The Federal Government for example previously denied more than 1000 benefits to legally married couples. This is because the DOMA Act (Defense of Marriage Act) defined marriage as a union between one woman and one man. However, recently this section of the act was deemed unconstitutional. This means that same-sex couples, who are legally married at the state...

... middle of paper ...

... frc.org Family Research Council

2004 Web. 18 Feb 2014

“Gay Marriage.” Gale Student Resources in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Student Resources in Context. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.

“History and Debate of Gay Marriage” Debate.org n.p 2012. Web. 4 Feb. 14

“Just-The-Facts” Whymarriagematter.org Why Marriage Matters. N.d Web. 4 Feb. 14

Khan, Zafar “Islamic Views About Homosexuality” Islamicawareness.net n.p n.d Web. 14 Feb. 2014

Lipp, Murray “7 Ways the U.S.A Benefits from the Legalization of Gay Marriage” Huffingtonpost.com Huffington Post 2 June 2013 Web 6 Feb 2014

Lipp, Murray “The Top 10 Arguments Against Gay Marriage” Huffingtonpost.com Huffington Post 28 May 2013 Web 16 Feb 2014

Smith, Michal “Same-Sex Marriage Bad for Society” Dailyherald.com Daily Herald 21 Feb 2014 Web 9 Feb 2014

“Where State Laws Stand” Freedomtomarry.org Freedom to Marry I

Show More
Related

  • Loving V Virginia Essay

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    The U.S. has recognized marriage as a basic human right by many court cases including Loving v Virginia. Since protecting the marriage of a black-Cherokee woman and a white man, the case has also helped support the legalization of same-sex marriage in all 50 states. This is important because it creates a more united America by knocking down social constraints that disallowed the 5-10% of America identified as homosexual from being married. In the same way as blacks were not allowed to vote, gay couples were not allowed to marry. The legalization of same-sex marriage is helping bridge the split in social order of America by not outlawing same-sex couples for being “immoral” and implying the couples are less-deserving of marriage than a heterosexual relationship. The change of expanding the 14th amendment’s meaning of equal protection of rights for all citizens, in this case for marriage, is helping people treat each other as equivalent and allowing the country to take another step towards liberty and justice for

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Conservative Case For Gay Marriage

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage Why Same-sex Marriage Is An an American Value” is an essay written by Theodore B. Olson, arguing that same-sex marriage is what conservatives want in society and values. “Prop 8 Hurt My Family-Ask Me How” is a report released by Marriage Equality USA, listing different accounts of emotional and physical harassment on the LGBT community and its supporter due to Prop 8. In “The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage Why Same-sex Marriage Is An an American Value” by Theodore B. Olson and “Prop 8 Hurt My Family - Ask Me How” by Marriage Equality USA, both of the authors used the different writing techniques efficiently to their advantages. They were able to reach their audience and give their message to the audience productively, using the different rhetorical strategies. The different rhetorical strategies that will be discussed about is purpose, audience, genre, stance, media/design, logos, ethos, and pathos.

    Read More

  • Gay Marriage Should Be Legal in Ohio

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    As granted by the United States Constitution, everyone is entitled to equal rights. The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Gay rights are forgotten many times and equal rights for same-sex marriage are often ignored. For this reason, federal authorities have left policymaking regarding this topic up to individual state governments. Many people throughout the United States, and across the world, have extremely different views on the subject; some because of religious reasons, others because of family, others because of how they were raised. The policy of gay marriage and equal rights is an extremely touchy subject, and is much deeper than what it may seem.

    Read More

  • Essay On Gay Rights

    1342 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the recent history of America, gay marriage has always been an issue. With the different views and morals everyone has on the subject, it makes it hard for individual states to determine what side they should be on. In 1983 a Harvard Law School student, Evan Wolfson, wrote a thesis stating the rule of marriage equality. Justices concluded that gay couples were entitled to the legal benefits of civil marriage; and most crucially in the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts, whose favorable ruling, in a suit by lawyer Mary Bonauto and the Boston-based Gay and Lesbian Advocated and Defenders, led to the nation’s first bona fide same-sex marriages…” (“Gay Marriage turns 10 and Credit Should Be Spread around- The Boston Globe). On May 17, 2004 Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriages. In June of 2013, California legalized gay marriages, which helped their large LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered) community. (“History and Timeline of the Freedom…”). When this finally happened, it was seen as a great achievement by Karmala Harris, a California Attorney. “This is a profound day in our country, and its just the right thing: ‘Justice is finally being served’” (“Court Gives OK for California Gay Marriages”).

    Read More

  • The History of and Issues surrounding the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

    1898 Words  | 4 Pages

    Same-sex marriage is one of the leading political topics in the United States today. There is an ongoing dispute pertaining to the legalization of same-sex marriages. America has shifted its head to focusing on supporting same-sex marriage or not. Many are for and against this topic but there has been no settlement for it yet. Homosexuals want to marry for the same reason that heterosexuals have and there should be no reason why they are not allowed to. There is some history behind this topic but there has yet to be a solution.

    Read More

  • Same Sex Adoption Persuasive Essay

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    Same-sex couples in many states are still fighting everyday to just simply get married. Thirty-five states have made same-sex marriage legal, but there are still fifteen states that have a ban on same-sex marriage and those fifteen will not recognize the union (“Same-Sex Marriage Fast Facts”). Those fifteen states now have an easier time now to keep the

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Gay Marriage

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine someone telling you that you were not allowed to marry the person you are in love with just because they are the same sex as is. Imagine being harassed and treated completely different just because you are in a relationship with someone of the same gender as you. Now more than ever, same-sex marriage is a topic that is often discussed. In 2010, there were approximately 646,000 same-sex couples in the United States according to the 2010 decennial census, (Lofquist, 2010). As of Jan. 6, 2014, gay marriage has been legalized in 17 of the 50 states, (procon.org, 2014). For a very brief amount of time, Michigan was the 18th state that allowed gay couples to marry, but now it joins Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Texas. These states have had courts overturn gay marriage bans, but they still have pending appeals.

    Read More

  • Reframing The Argument On Gay Marriage Essay

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    There’s multiple ways the idea of having same sex marriage legalized should be considering the fact on the thousands of people can obtain benefits for themselves that they never had before. For example, in the article “ Social Security agency shows why Supreme Court must act on gay marriage,” it claims that “Social Security has published new instructions that allow the agency to process more claims in which entitlement or eligibility is affected by a same-sex relationship,” the federal retiree agency said. Unfortunately, “the Social Security Act requires the agency to follow state law in Social Security cases.” Although there’s a flow the Social security is doing all they can to give these people the same right as everyone else despite the implications that are in

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Gay Marriage In The United States

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    “On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage is a right protected by the US Constitution in all 50 states. Same-sex marriage was already legal in 37 states. US public opinion had shifted significantly over the years, from 27% approval of gay marriage in 1996 to 60% in 2015” (Silver).

    Read More

  • Same-Sex Marriage

    1522 Words  | 4 Pages

    America is a country known for its freedom, yet people are told who they can and cannot marry. According to Kim Richards a case in Hawaii in 1993 where judges said the state’s constitution required a good reason not to give gay’s equal marriage rights. Congress was pushed to pass the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevented homosexuals who were allowed to marry from receiving the usual benefits of marriage, like taxes and retirement. In response states have made their stand on domestic partnerships and civil unions. DOMA was passed out of fear that a lawsuit filed in Hawaii would make them allow same sex marriage. The congress did not want to allow same sex couples the same benefits heterosexual couples receive while legally married (4-6). Opponents of DOMA claims it violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Full Faith and Credit Clause. By 2002, thirty-six states banned same-sex marriage or recognizing of same-sex marriage formed in other states (Richards 4-6). Benjamin Wittes says the uproar began in 1991 when Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, and liberals became upset claiming it was a contradiction to our free country (46-48). Dayton says Massachusetts was the first state to sign the bill to allow marriage equality in their state. While republican opponents win the legislative fight with twenty-one states denying marriage equality while just ten have granted the rights to homosexual couples. Polls have shown the majority of America, even including one of our most liberal states, California, remains against gay marriage. After the bill passing in Massachusetts in 2003, thirteen states passed anti-gay-marriage initiatives. Gay right activists are in hopes that states will not follow (...

    Read More

  • Same Sex Marriage

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... marriage is a controversial topic among today’s society. While the LGBT community fights for marriage equality, they feel inferior to those capable of being married. Same-sex marriage is not intended to harm heterosexual marriage or affect the function of society. Studies prove same-sex marriage would help the economy, as well as, government permitting, raise adoption rates. According to the First and Fourteenth Amendments; same-sex marriage is protected by the Constitution. Backing the Constitution are multiple marriage equality court cases. Same-sex marriage would end stigmatization of homosexuals and discrimination against them. There are over one thousand rights same-sex couples are denied of. Marriage equality and these civil rights would consider all men to be treated equal again. The future of marriage equality relies on the legalization of same-sex marriage.

    Read More

  • Debating Same-Sex Marriages

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the point of view of Gallagher, marriage is to give a child a mother and a father and to raise them in the best environment possible. She argues that when men a women have a kid and are not married or stay married the family structure falls apart and then is when many bad things happen to more kids like: poverty, welfare dependence, child abuse, sexual abuse, physical illness, infant mortality, homicide, premature and promiscuous sexuality, juvenile delinquency, educational failure, conduct disorders and adult criminality and many others. This is also when children suffer and communities pay the consequences with crime. This is why she thinks that having a good family structure meaning one father and one mother is so important. She does not agree with same “sex-unions” because they can’t provide to a child the same things a heterosexual marriage would like a mother and a father.

    Read More

  • Same-Sex Marriage: A Civil Right and Social Benefit

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Same-sex marriage has been a topic of debate in the United States for decades, and on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that states could not ban same-sex couples from getting married. However, there are still those who believe that marriage is for those of opposite sexes only. According to an article written by Tom Geoghegan, gay marriage is “not the same as heterosexual marriage – the religious and social significance of a gay wedding ceremony simply isn’t the same” (Geo). Although the author makes a reasonable argument, we believe that it is the choice of the individual, and that gays and lesbians are all part of our society, and that we shall allow them the same rights as everyone else. Not only is same-sex marriage protected by our civil rights, but it increases the number of adoptions, which is beneficial to our society.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay Against Same Sex Marriage

    1584 Words  | 4 Pages

    Same-sex marriage is a broad and current controversy in the United States today. The movement to legalize same-sex marriage started in the 1970; however, it is still not legal in all fifty states yet (“Same-sex marriage in the United States”). Legalizing same-sex marriage should not be a debate. People should be able to marry who they love regardless of sexual orientation. Same-sex marriage should be legal because it is a human right, religion should not interfere with state laws, it does not adversely affect the heterosexual community in any way, and same-sex marriage can actually benefit our society.

    Read More

  • Same Sex Marriage: The Arguments For Same-Sex Marriage

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    The traditional definition of a marriage has always hinged on the view of a married couple as being composed of a man and a woman (Gerstmann 33). However, during the last three decades there has been a rise in the number of same sex marriages. This has led to heated debates that has made same sex marriages one of the most controversial topics facing the modern society. Despite the US supreme court ruling that the rights to same sex marriage is guaranteed by the constitution, a significant percentage of Americans still oppose its legalization. While some feel that it is morally and legally right, others are of a contrary opinion. Both sides of the divide, those against same sex marriage and those for same sex marriage, present cogent arguments on why their perspectives are valid. This paper argues that the arguments for same sex marriage are more persuasive that those against same sex marriages, and so same sex marriage should be legalized.

    Read More

More about The Gay Marriage Debate

Open Document