Same-Sex Marriage

There are approximately 594,000 same-sex couples living in the U.S. today. However, less than 2% of same-sex couples are married (“Gay Marriage Statistics” 1). Prejudice against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) community has existed for years. LGBT individuals are often bullied, abused, and denied their basic rights and benefits. The right to marry is one of them. Same-sex marriage should be legalized because marriage is indeed a civil right, it provides many benefits, and would be beneficial to society as a whole.

The fight to legalize gay marriage has won many battles in recent years. It has become available in Canada, England, New Zealand, and here in the United States it is now legal in 13 states (religioustolerence.org). Gay couples have become more prominently accepted in modern society, appearing in popular TV shows such as “Modern Family” and “The New Normal”. Gay marriage is even the inspiration for popular songs such as “Same Love” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Even with same sex couples being more commonly accepted, there are still conservative and religious leaders that remain opposed. It is this opposition that has prevented gay marriage from becoming legal in most of the country. Gays and lesbians are Americans just like everyone else, and deserve the same rights. Discrimination to a minority is supposed to be against the law, but still somehow manages to exist for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community. Preventing same sex couples from marrying is not only denying them their civil rights, it is also discriminating against their innocent family members.

For many years the topic of homosexual marriage, also known as gay marriage, has been a main concern throughout the world. Many people believe that marriage should be met between a man and a woman, while others simply believe that marriage should be between those who love whoever they want to love and be with. Throughout the years the role of gay marriage has been changing constantly, and will continue to change as years go on. About fifty years ago gay marriage was completely illegal and seemed to be unnatural and wrong. Since then, views have changed and people began to realize love is love and marriage between homosexuals should be legal to maintain equality within the states. Gay marriage should be legalized within the United States because it will provide happiness and equality for many people. First of all, the main concern with gay marriage has been the religious views of many people. Gay marriage has been stuck in the closet (pun intended) because the government tries to keep everyone politically and religiously happy. Second, states are beginning to realize that gay marriage is not the worst thing in the world and are slowly legalizing it. Third, gay marriage is played into the political views because of the many laws that are made to prevent it. Then there ways that gay married couples are treated differently. Lastly, many believe that children should have a man and a woman as their parents but gay couples do just as fine as heterosexual families do.

People in America have all different reasons to be against gay rights. It is against religion, it violates traditional marriage and family relationships, and it can confuse children. Marriage is when two people are brought together to share their life together for the rest of their lives. It really should not matter whether or not it is the same sex or two people of different genders that want to commit the rest of their life to someone.

As an American citizen, a person should be entitled to marry whoever they choose, regardless of gender or sexual preference. Gay marriage is something that some people consider to be taboo while other people are very supportive of it; I am one of the latter. The ability to marry someone is a basic human right and it should not be taken away from someone because they love a person of the same gender. One of the main reasons that gay marriage is illegal in the United States is because of what the Bible says about it, regardless of the fact that the first Amendment of the US Constitution says that there is to be a separation between church and state. Approximately three point eight percent of the United States population is made up of people

Gay marriage is a very talked about topic in are country that shouldn’t be ignored. I believe men and women should be able to love freely and not be shamed by it. Marriage is a great factor in the United States. To some people it’s what we live for; is to get married and start a family. To not give everyone the same opportunity to have a happy marriage and family is unlike us. This problem is bringing a lot of hate, the same hate that was used in racial discrimination so why not give gays equal rights like everyone else. Andrew Sullivan wrote a article that shares his experiences of coming out and being accepted. When puberty hit he started to realize he wasn’t the same. He knew that his marriage is not going to be the same as his parent’s marriage. This is when his future went black. Suicide stepped into his mind at some points because he knew he wasn’t going to be accepted by his family and country which he lived in England at the time. When he turned 21 he left England and came to the United States. He came here because it was the land of the free. If we discriminate against same-sex marriage and gays in overall we are not the true land of the free because they are not going to be able to love freely (Sullivan).

The issue of gay marriage needs little introduction as it is one of the most widely contended and discussed topics in the United States of America. While the issue is relatively recent one has to question why this is even an issue to begin with. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Arguments come from both religious groups, as well as secular focused sources. Reasoning against gay marriage ranges from religious immorality, to the idea that giving gays the right to marry would support minoritarianism (giving minority special privileges and advantages in either a legislative or societal capacity). There are countless arguments besides those mentioned, few of which have any substantial grounds to stand on. Gay marriage causes no political or communal grief, except for those who strongly oppose it now. Even for those people gay people exist either way. Whether they are married or not will not change that and their lives will not be dramatically changed from it. Gay marriage has no valid reason to be outlawed and there are plenty of reasons to allow it.

Gay marriage has been illegal in the majority of the United States. Although gay marriage is considered illegal there are many reasons why it should be legalized. Marriage is a human right reserved under the 14th amendment whether the human be homo or heterosexual. As of right now the United States have 17 states with legalized gay marriage (“Gay..”). Marriage is considered an act between two people who love each other to vow that they will always love each other. The Catholic Church is against gay marriage as they view the matter as a man and woman should be the only relationship capable of marriage. Gay marriage should be allowed in the United States because it’s a violation of the 14th amendment, denying the right to same sex marriage also allows the right to discriminate and because it is not an attack on same sex marriage.

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.

The legality of gay marriage is a hot topic for many reasons. Traditionally marriage has been known as a legal bond between a man and a woman. Times have changed since those days. More and more people are coming out of the closet everyday. There are more gay people today than there ever have been and that number is only increasing. Marriage is a way for two people to show their commitment towards each other, so it should not matter what their gender or sexual orientation is.