Marriage is the sacred bond between two people who love and cherish one another. Traditionally this bond has been held between man and woman. With so many changes in the world, there are more openly homosexual people in our society. Though people have become more accepting of the existence of homosexuality, gays and lesbians are still considered unequal when it comes to marriage. Homosexual couples should have the same rights to marry as heterosexual couples.
Denying this right is unjust and is discrimination towards a group of people. Same-sex marriage has become more of a political issue when it really should be left up to one’s own personal and religious beliefs. Even though there are a few states that recognize legal same-sex marriage or domestic partnership, couples still have to face feeling inferior because of the little to no benefit they are given, while heterosexual marriages have an abundant of rights, privileges and benefits. If it is our constitutional right to get married to the person our choice then let it be. It should not matter what the next person feels because they have the right to feel the way they want to feel just as a person can fall in love and marry their significant other.
Marriage is supposed to unite two people together for better and worse for the rest of their lives. Why would anyone want to deny another person the opportunity to commit their life to another person regardless of gender? According to a chart by Christine Vestal, a staff writer at Stateline.org, there is only six states that allow same-sex marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. New Jersey and Connecticut are the only two states that recognize civil union for same-sex couples al...
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...d religion. Many may feel that it is simply tradition for a man a woman to be married and homosexual marriage is just not the norm. On the other hand, what I just mention was also not normal and yet we as a nation have overcome them.
It has taken time and great effort to win these rights and the privilege to make our own choices. Today many are more open-minded and tolerant of the existence of homosexuality and homosexual couples and there are a handful of states that are more accepting of the ideal of same-sex marriage. It is only a matter of time before the rest of the nation accepts this.
Works Cited
Oison, Theadore B. “The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage” Newsweek 09 Jan, 2010: Web.
Saunders, Cat. “Gay Marriage? Absolutely!” The News Time July 2000: Web.
Vestal, Christine “Gay marriage legal in six states” Stateline 04 Jun, 2009: Web.
Within America’s society today, 3.8 percent of the population is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. With only 17 of the 50 states legalizing and recognizing this type of relationship (“History…”), it puts a stronghold on same-sex couples to publicly declare their love with the promise of marriage. Same-sex marriages should be legalized because everyone has equal rights of freedom and liberty.
In the 1800s, African Americans and women couldn’t own property, vote, or be truly free. Everyone was segregated by the pigment of their skin. This was institutionalizing severely in the south. According to the Gallup poll, ninety-six percent of blacks, 84% of whites approve interracial marriage in 2011. That’s a 79% increased favor compare to 1950s gallop poll. When science began to full throttle it help liberate the freedoms for the minority. Women are now more likely to get a four year degree than me which is different than it was in the 1970s. In the 1950s, interracial marriage was wrong. Homosexuality is currently illegal in major of the states of America. As science progresses with experiments, we will see homosexuality to be acceptable in our society. According to Lydia Saad, she said “The 63% now saying gay relations should be legal nearly matches the record-high 64% of a year ago, which came after a long-term increase in support for legality from 32% in 1986.” As science grows more, the Supreme Court will protect same sex
The gay rights movement has made great progress in the United States, compared to generations ago, with the legalization of marriage in some states, and also the gaining of certain equal rights. Many people today accept homosexuals within society, and society in general is more...
Since homosexual couples cannot get married in certain states; some states allow civil unions. Civil unions were created in 2000 in Vermont to give some responsibilities and legal protection to homosexual couples (Wolfson). Recently, civil unions have been declared as ineffective because it has created a second class citizenship. A civil union does very little for homosexual couples and do...
... of gay marriage has come a long way from where it started, but still needs to gain more support among the population in order to become a countrywide reality.
At a time when many observers question whether America has made any real progress, on the racial front, it is worth recalling that as late as 1967, sixteen states prohibited people from marrying across racial frontiers. Now no such prohibitions exist... Just as many people once found trans-racial marriage to be a loathsome potentiality well-worth prohibiting, so, too, do many people find same-sex marriage to be an abomination.
Famous children’s author Dr. Seuss once said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind". Gay rights, at the moment, are one of the most publicized and well known controversial subjects of this decade. The sides clearly drawn one fighting for rights as simple as being married the other stating that it defames their religion and goes against the definition of marriage, being between a man and a woman. The individuals who are fighting for their civil rights are fallowing the same path that African Americans and women have taken, but the change has started and in over 13 states gays have been given their basic rights and more state are joining in the fight both for and against the topic.
Gay marriage should be legal in all 50 states, because the idea behind America is to guarantee each individual’s freedom of choice and opinion, and expression thereof. Not only is it in many ways vaguely guaranteed in the US constitution, but laws against it also violate people's personal rights to religious freedom. The idea behind the establishment of this nation is equality for all and the protection of rights to individual beliefs. US laws are supposed to protect the rights of everybody as a whole, so that everyone has freedom to their own expression, whatever that may be.
As the years have passed, homosexuality has become a very controversial topic. The fact that day by day they fight for equality just to be happy, I think it is an injustice that many people refuse to give them the rights they deserve.
Marriage equality rights have come a long way over the last several year, however there is still more progress to be made. Achieving gay marriage rights across the nation has been a long fight and has caused quite a great deal of controversy. While more and more people, churches, organizations, businesses, etc. are all starting to support the movement, thousands of them still do not. While achieving the goal of marriage rights in the LGBT community may seem never ending, it’s important to recognize the small wins along the way.
Marriage is a “socially recognized and approved union between individuals, who commit to one another with the expectations of a stable and lasting intimate relationship. It begins with a ceremony known as a wedding which formally unites marriage partners. A marital relationship usually involves some kind of contract, either written or specified by tradition, which defines the partners’ rights and obligations to each other, to any children they may have, and to their relatives. In most contemporary industrialized societies, marriage is certified by the government,” (Skolnick, 2005). Marriage is also an important institution because of the impact it has on society. Marriage is the main way that reproduction of human life occurs. In some societies it is tradition for family heirlooms or things of value be passed on through marriage. Marriage also serves as a healthy way to have intimate relationships with an individual. In most places a marriage exists between two people of the opposite sex. However, the legal definition of marriage is currently being challenged by many. According to Skolnick’s article a marriage can be defined by responsibilities that a couple would share, some examples are: living together, having sexual relations, sharing money and financial responsibilities, and having a child together. The issue is that homosexual couples can do these things like heterosexual couples.
Prohibiting same sex marriage is unconstitutional. "The act discriminates on the basis of the sex by making the ability to marry depend on one's gender" (American Civil Liberties Union, p 12). It also disregards the Faith Full and Credit Clause of the constitution. If a gay or lesbian couple gets married in a state where same sex marriage is legal, but then for some reasons decides to move to another state where same sex marriage is prohibited, it would mean that their union would not be recognized.
There are many opponents of gay people as it is, and they all have their reasons to dislike the idea of permitting them get married. One of the main reasons is that the primary purpose of marriage is procreation. Because gay couples are unable to have children, they should not be allowed to marry (Schiffen 495). Another main argument is that the word marriage means the union of one man and one woman. This is a long-standing theme of most major Western religions. Under a proposed bill known as the Defense of Marriage act, marriage is defined as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.” Furthermore, it defines a spouse as “ a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife” (What 1). Under these guidelines, it is quite obvious that gay couples would not be eligible for marriage. People against homosexual marriage also say that it is a person’s choice to be gay. Since the individual chooses to be a homosexual, they should not be given special privileges. Another argument that you hear is that these couples should not get married simply because of the torment and ridicule they would be faced with in their everyday lives. There are news reports from across America telling about how a gay person was beaten or killed just because they were looked at as different. Some of these people would end up the target of verbal abuse and maybe even physical abuse, just because some heterosexual people see them as different.
In conclusion I argue that banning same-sex marriage is discriminatory. It is discriminatory because it denies homosexuals the many benefits received by heterosexual couples. The right to marriage in the United States has little to do with the religious and spiritual meaning of marriage. It has a lot to do with social justice, extending a civil right to a minority group. This is why I argue for same-sex marriage. The freedom to marry regardless of gender preference should be allowed.
Marriage is just one way for two people to show their love for another. Whether it is two men, two women, or a man and a woman, love is love. People against gay marriage do not have the right to deny people of showing their love for one another. Everyone deserves the same rights as Americans and also just as people. The United States of America promotes freedom, liberty, and justice for all people. Same-sex couples are many times not included when it comes to marriage rights.