Same Sex Marriage

Some people may argue that marriage is a human right and not a heterosexual privilege. People believe that the illegalization of gay marriage has gone on far too long. They feel as if the legalization can transmute the way the world optically views them. “In order to attain equal rights, same sex couples must be able to have their relationship legally recognized, no matter where they live in the country "The Best Arguments for Gay Rights." Weblog post. N.P., n.d. Web.”

Proponents of gay marriage contends that gay marriage bans are discriminatory and unconstitutional, and that same-sex marriages should have access to all the benefits enjoyed by different sex couples.

The United States is currently embroiled in a battle over issues regarding civil rights of its citizens and what rights are constituted by that term. In the past, civil rights issues have been fought over women's rights and those of African Americans among others all in the name of seeking equality. Perhaps the most vocal group discussing civil rights in the United States at present are gay marriage activists who are fighting for same-sex couples to be able to marry. These individuals feel that marriage is a civil right and that there is no legal reason why people of the same gender cannot be legally married in the United States, a perspective which is shared by many people who are themselves not homosexual. Homosexuality and what rights should be afforded to same-sex couples have been in the forefront of politics for the last few years and rightly so. Before this period, gay people had to fight to get recognized and for their relationships to even be legal. For most of American history, homosexuals have had to hide their sexual orientation or fear ostracism and marginalization by the moral and social majority. This oppression is still seen in the legislation of the United States. Those who do not agree almost always use their religious beliefs as a reason for denying homosexuals this right despite the fact that the United States Constitution bans legislation being based upon religious perspectives. There simply is no reasonable argument against same-sex

In the United States, there is social unrest regarding the government's denial of the right to marry for homosexuals. Plenty of conservatives are completely against gay marriage; and many of liberals are fighting for equal treatment. The neo-Christian politicians are using religious arguments to establish that homosexuality is an abomination. While this may be their belief system, this country was founded on religious freedom, where the people are allowed to worship how they see fit. A ground rule, set up from the beginning, states that separation needs to be made between religion and government, so the two shall never meld to become a theocracy. With the issue of gay marriage, lines get blurred and religion

“Proponents argue that same-sex couples should have access to the same marriage benefits and public acknowledgment enjoyed by heterosexual couples and that prohibiting gay marriage is unconstitutional discrimination. Opponents argue that altering the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman will further weaken a threatened institution and that legalizing gay marriage is a slippery slope...” (Walker, V.R., 2013)

1. Other countries (Denmark, Canada etc.) have legalized gay marriage. (Bidstrup, 2009) The United States prides itself on being the forefront and a leader in all things so they should be leading the way for gay marriage as well.

Should this nation have the right to deny a citizen equality? Overall, the answer should be no. Surprisingly enough, the majority of our nation says there should not be marriage equality because it is unethical. The topic of marriage equality has been around for almost fifty years and it does not seem to be going away anytime soon as it is still a very prominent discussion in our society. The very first time a couple of the same sex applied for a marriage license was in December of 1970. The couples’ names were Richard John 'Jack' Baker and James Michael McConnell. They were denied marriage whenever they came forward to be married. As a result, they tried to sue the County District clerk, however the supreme court sided by the clerk (Gay Marriage Timeline History of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate). Less than three years later Maryland became the first state to officially make same sex marriage illegal and many other states soon followed in their footsteps. What made them prohibit same sex in the first place and did they have a valid reason in doing so?

Thomas Jefferson wrote about “unalienable rights” in The Declaration of Independence. What he meant was there are rights that are given to us as human beings and cannot be taken away by the government. “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” are among those rights that are being suppressed against same sex couples. Their right to pursue happiness with their significant other is taken from them by the state. Psychologically and medically married couples are healthier in general because they have someone to share their good days and bad days with as well as someone to take care of when they are sick. However some marriages are not so healthy where one of the partners is abusive whether emotionally or physically and it usually occurs in heterosexual relationships. Orphaned children and children in the foster system also benefit from the union of gay couples because since they can’t have their own children they often look to adoption when starting their own families. Because homosexuals are denied the right of marriage to their loved ones they take marriage more seriously than most heterosexuals who take their right for granted. While the Constitution never specifically stated a need for “separation of the church and the state” the idea is implied because America is a diverse nation and “freedom of religion” definitely is in the constitution. “Freedom of religion”

Same sex marriage has been an ongoing debate for many years. Gay people and gay supporters believe that they should be treated equally to marry whoever they want because it is how they feel and people should be understanding of that. By being human they argue that it is their right to have equality. On the other hand, Christians believe that they should not have the right to marry the same sex because it is an attack on the church and degrades the traditional concept of marriage. Due to Christians not believing in same sex marriage, they worry that now it is legal that they will be forced to accept it and preachers and pastors will be forced to marry gay couples. There are many standing viewpoints on the matter and these two points of view say the most. Does same sex marriage effect religion or not?

Many people are in favor of legalizing a civil union or domestic partnership for same sex couples but will stop short on agreeing to a marriage between same sex couples. Legalizing same sex marriage would give gay couples the same rights and privileges of heterosexual couples. The issues of health insurance, death and survivor benefits, and the right to file their income tax as married are just a few of the issues they seek to rectify. If one of the partners in a gay relationship becomes the victim of a violent crime, the other one does not have the same protections of heterosexual couples, such as confidentiality of address or the right to make an impact statement in a court of law. If one partner is a police officer, fire fighter or in the military and are killed in the line of duty, they cannot receive any of the survivor’s benefits. If there are minor children in the relationship, the surviving partner does not have any parental rights to that child.

Imagine sitting at a beautiful wedding table, underneath the stars and the moon, the glistening light sparkling among the chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. Your partner and you are finally getting the moment you have been dreamed of, a wedding. This day took months in advance to prepare, all in the name of love. Now imagine this dream being taken away from you. The lights, the flowers, the beautiful night sky, and the love that is ever so fluffy bouncing through the air. This is what our society is experiencing. Many gays believe that they deserve the rights they are granted by the government. They work extremely hard, day in and day out trying to find ways to express their ideas, but they cannot seem to get any support. Homosexuals are held at an unfair disadvantage solely because of their sexual orientation. Gay couples should be allowed the right to marry because they are humans too and deserve the same rights as heterosexual couples.

Same sex marriage has been widely looked down upon for ages. People say, “It’s not the traditional constitutional marriage”, or “Children need a mother and a father”. It honestly doesn’t matter. If two people love each other, they should be allowed to marry. It’s just as simple as that. What other reason do you need? If two complete strangers of the same sex want to be together for the rest of their lives, we should let them.First, denying some people to marry is discriminatory. Judge Sarah Zabel of Miami-Dade Circuit Court ruled the gay marriage ban of Florida unconstitutional. She stated that it, “serves only to hurt, to discriminate, to deprive same-sex couples and their families of equal dignity, to label and treat them as 2nd class citizens, and to deem them unworthy of participation in one of the fundamental institutions of our society.” In other words, you’re looking down upon same sex couples that want to get married as if they’re lower than you; that they don’t deserve the same rights as us. Same sex couples would be able to enjoy the same benefits as heterosexual couples if they were able to be married.Furthermore, the General Accounting Office made an assessment in 2004 about the benefits that heterosexual married couples have that same sex couples could not. Some of these benefits include hospital visitation during an illness and the option of filing a joint tax return to reduce a tax burden. Imagine not being able to see your significant other in the hospital

Americans seem to be all freedom and equality, this is the main desire of just about every citizen. Most of society will say they support equal rights for all citizens. But as soon as the topic of equal rights for homosexuals, people become uncomfortable and uneasy, not knowing which opinion is right and wrong and right. Surprisingly the majority of Americans voted for the Constitutional Amendment, which puts a ban on gay marriage, however, the concept of gay marriage is still not considered a right the American people. This amendment entitles to equal rights to the gay community, ending toleration of discrimination in jobs, rights protecting gays from hate crimes,rights allowing advancement in government. Although the law

Gay marriage is a topic that is widely discussed and debated similar to racism or women’s rights, but now that gay marriage is legal people are still trying to ban their freedom statewide. All American couples deserve decent health care, spousal death benefits, and all other privileges afforded through marriage. Same sex unions should not be different from heterosexual marriages.

The vast majority of opponents believe marriage should be between one woman and one man, meaning marriage should be between members of the opposite sex. Otherwise, the marriage would be called “untraditional”. I often think how silly this may seem to a homosexual, what if they wonder where this general unknown rule came from. Who defines marriage? Recently, many court systems say there are no evidence towards why homosexuals should not be allowed to marry. Assuming these courts realize the American principle of human rights stated before. One such case, Lawrence vs. Texas, determined "all sodomy laws in the United States are unconstitutional and unenforceable when applied to non- commercial consenting adults in private." In other words, sodomy