Martin Luther King Jr. once said that ““Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere” and because of that, I agree with him. I firmly believe that the same discrimination he fought against continues to exist today, and because of that I stand firmly in favor of marriage equality. Marriage equality is the belief that anyone, regardless of gender, or sexual orientation, should be allowed to marry. I believe that marriage equality is a human right, not just a privilege reserved for straight people. In my paper, I intend to support this belief through two main areas. First, I will discuss why the arguments against marriage equality collapse, then I will show why it’s right to support marriage equality.
First, the argument that being gay is a sin, therefore, it should be banned. If the American government/people are going to discriminate against gays and lesbians because being gay is a “sin”, then what is there to prevent other 'sinners' from being discriminated against? What laws and protections do we have from a theocratic government? The answer is the first amendment, which brings me to my second point, that denying marriage is a violation of our civil rights.
Indent-- The BIll of Rights guarantees that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion [...]." This means that congress will pass no laws on religious grounds. But seeing as there are some who claim that marriage equality is also bad for society outside of religion, the Supreme Court has stated its opinion clearly. ("Should Same-Sex Marriages Be Legalized?")
According to the Supreme Court's ruling in US v. Windsor ("The Expanding Power of U.S. v. Windsor."), denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples is unconstitutional as a matter of e...
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...hose minorities, and marriage equality is no different.
Which brings me to my concluding point, that love is love. When people marry, they do so because they want the security and the comfort of being able to know that the man or woman they love will be able to be there for them through thick and thin. They want to know that if they’re sick in the hospital, they loved ones can visit. They want to know that when they die, their partner will not be left with nothing. In short, they just want to be treated the same.
In conclusion, I covered the main points for and against marriage equality. As a nation, we have no right to take away the rights of two people who wish to be married. We as a society have come a long way from the days of interracial marriage, but we still have a long way to go. To legalize marriage equality would be one step closer to equality for all.
Legalizing gay marriage has been a controversial topic in the past few years. In my opinion, gay people should be allowed to get married because it is a civil right. It shouldn 't matter what gender they prefer because they 're still regular people. Making gay marriage illegal, is the same as taking away someone 's freedom and civil rights. That is unethical and completely awful. There 's no harm being done by letting two people who are in love with each other get married. However, many religious fundamentalists are against this and believe gay marriage is wrong and needs to be stopped. Homosexual couples should have the right to get married because it 's a civil right and their sexual preference doesn 't make them any less human.
The constitutional right of gay marriage is a hot topic for debate in the United States. Currently, 37 states have legal gay marriage, while 13 states have banned gay marriage. The two essays, "What’s Wrong with Gay Marriage?" by Katha Pollitt and "Gay "Marriage": Societal Suicide" by Charles Colson provide a compare and contrast view of why gay marriage should be legal or not. Pollitt argues that gay marriage is a constitutional human right and that it should be legal, while Colson believes that gay marriage is sacrilegious act that should not be legal in the United States and that “it provides a backdrop for broken families and increases crime rates” (Colson, pg535). Both authors provide examples to support their thesis. Katha Pollitt provides more relevant data to support that gay marriage is a constitutional right and should be enacted as law in our entire country, she has a true libertarian mindset.
In today’s society, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community has been more accepted then in years prior, especially in the 1960’s and years prior to that, when anyone in the LGBT community would be horribly ridiculed, if not tortured. However, there still lies a long road for the LGBT community, as it pertains to human rights, equality, and particularly, marriage equality. Each individual has their own perception on marriage equality, whether it is based on moral basis, or on a humanistic (humane) basis, which is the belief of not denying anyone the right to be who they are, and therefore love who they love. However, as a society, we must examine the facts, as well as ourselves, as we address the debate for marriage equality for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community.
James Howe in his book Addie On the Inside said “Another Thing I 'm Sick of Hearing: If I started that gay rights group, I must be gay. So if i start an animal rights group, what does that make me? A giraffe?” The non-supporters of the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual and Queer) community often think that if you support LGBTQ rights you’re gay yourself. This is wrong, LGBTQ rights can be supported by anyone, and their rights are an acute issue in society. There are thousands of LGBTQ couples who still cannot get married in certain states. There are many LGBTQ couples that would like to adopt children and enjoy their lives, but instead they’re being shunned for being who they are. So with this I think that LGBTQ couples should
Originally colonizing for religious reasons in the 17th century, the United States of America has evolved since then into a nation that separates government and personal beliefs. Although the U.S claims that their church and state is separated, the issue of gay marriage is still a relevant issue today. Thoughts on same-sex marriage are primarily based off of religious beliefs, yet the U.S. government still believes it should control whether gays should be married or not. The U.S. should make gay marriage legal, because it is unconstitutional not to do so.
Opponents of same-sex marriage have about as many reasons to not allow gay marriage as supporters have to allow it. One reason people don't want gays getting married is because in most religions, it is a sin to be attracted to the same gender, and completely unspeakable to marry them. (TFP Student Action; page 1) They think that if we were to allow gays to marry, it would promote the acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle, and society would be forced to accept it. (TFP Student Action; page 1) Children would get confused after seeing two men/women getting married at a church, and may think they can behave this way, even if their religion is against it. (TFP Student Action; page 1) Schools could even begin to teach about the gay culture, due to it being so socially accepted. (TFP Student Action; page 1)
One of the very few things that frustrate me to the point where I would argue about it is the provocative matter of gay rights and the people who are against them. Gay marriage should be allowed and taken sincerely as marriage itself is the key to pursuing happiness; that is what most people desire “Happiness”. “Do not get married” is what is told to most gay couples, which changes the meaning of marriage entirely, making it only based on religion and cultures where only a man and a woman are allowed the right to marry. A large number of people argue otherwise since they consider it an illegal act in terms of culture and an iniquity in terms of religion. As an institution that has become more democratic, and is considered to be a human right, marriage should be made available to couples regardless of gender as gay marriage happens all the time, because it is a bond between two people; So We might as well take our head out of the sand and recognize it due to it already existing.
“Self pity becomes your oxygen. But you learned to breathe it without a gasp. So, nobody even notices you're hurting.” Every person who identifies as any of LGBTQPIA, (or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Queer, Questioning, Pansexual, Intersex, and Asexual) can connect directly to this quote by Paul Monette, who wrote it specifically for this group of people. Thousands of people daily are shamed for being a part of it. They are taught to despise themselves for who they are. “Gay Pride” is a common LGBT phrase for a reason: to teach people who are a part of the LGBTQPIA community that they don’t have to be ashamed of themselves. LGBT rights need a lot of work, but before we can make the commitment to do so, we need to make these groups accepted in all of America, not in only a few rare “safe places.”
Hence, denying same-sex couples the right to be married is unconstitutional. Many homosexual marriages will in fact last longer than marriages between heterosexual couples because it is so much more difficult for them to be married in the first place. In fact, a recent study was completed in Vermont over a three year period of time that proved marriages to be very well grounded for same-sex couples. Homosexual participants were compared with heterosexual participants and the homosexual couples actually reported greater relationship quality, compatibility, intimacy, and lower levels of conflict after being unionized (“Sexual Orientation Across The Lifespan”). Marriage actually made these couples stronger and even stronger than the heterosexual couples in the study....
“It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married” (Procon.org), said Barack Obama the 44th and current president of the United States. The gay right movement started in 1969, riots, struggles, and problems followed after. In today’s society, it has been showed that people are opening up to gay rights. There has been effort in protecting the gays and discrimination against gays is now considered a hate crime and is illegal. However, gay rights still to this day struggle with state and federal legal circumstances. Same- sex marriage needs to be legal, couples who choose to be of the same-sex should be allowed to celebrate their commitment with each other the way heterosexual couples get to, both publicly and society acceptable.
Over the last years the topic of same-sex marriage has been of great importance to our society. The idea of the same gender being lawfully married is disturbing to a group of people but in the recent years the number of supporters has increased. The cases that argue for the legalization of same-sex marriage are focusing on the relationship of the individuals and do not see anything in same-sex marriage that could harm our society as a whole. The article “How the President go to ‘I Do’ on Same-Sex Marriage,” published by Joe Becker in April 2014, explains how Barack Obama started saying that he was undecided about the subject matter but is now leaning toward the legalization of same-sex marriage. The subject matter takes a lot of analyzing of what pros and cons are to come from the legalization of same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage is a global argument that deals with unifying two individuals of the same gender under the law. The main reason that supporters give for justifying same-sex marriage is that it is for the same reason as straight people, to show love and commitment to each other. Furthermore, the argument of same-sex marriage is difficult to generalize because of the multiple factors that need to be taken in consideration when making any decision regarding this topic. Although Becker does have true premises, he lacks clarity in his terms which make his argument be false and invalid.
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 recent years, same-sex marriage has become a more controversial topic on whether it’s right or wrong. People should not feel coerced to agree with something they believe is wrong; clearly, same-sex marriage is immoral and unnatural. Many complications come with same-sex marriages including financial pressures, social pressures, moral pressures, and health risks.
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.
Legalizing gay marriage has caused many problems in the society today. The U.S. Constitution is making some people go against their religious beliefs because of this law. I personally do not think people should have to go against their religion to support something that God would not be pleased with. We have enough things going on in this horrible world and irrelevant things like this should not be added to society’s problems.