According to the Williams Institute, 3.5% of American adults identify themselves as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. This amounts to approximately 9 million lesbian, gay, or bisexual Americans, roughly the population of New Jersey. Even with this massive amount of homosexuals, they denied the right of marriage. Is it because of the sole reason that they like the same gender, is that really the reason why they cannot marry the one they love? Or is it really because they are not seen as normal human beings, that they are freaks of nature? This is surely not the case. Homosexuals are regular people, just like you and me. Even Michelangelo, one of the most admired and honored artists of all time, was gay (“Michelangelo”). Knowing this, same-sex marriage should be legalized nationwide.
For many homosexual couples, the main reason that fuels their desire to be officially recognized as a married couple is for the benefits that come with it. But sadly, they are not able to enjoy these benefits, such as taxation and inheritance rights, that heterosexual couples have the luxury to enjoy. For example, if one person in a same-sex relationship dies, the other person does not have any right to inherit their deceased loved one’s old possessions if they did not leave behind a will stating for their possessions to be inherited by their living loved one. On October 2, 2009, New York Times concluded that “same-sex couples denied of marriage benefits will incur an additional $41,196 to $467,562 in expenses over their lifetime compared to a married heterosexual couple”(“Pro & Con Arguments: ‘Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?’”) . As they are denied of heath care privileges, the extra costs that they would not need to pay if they were married will ad...
... middle of paper ...
...riage.procon.org). Although I do acknowledge that fact that homosexuals cannot reproduce, that is not much of a problem because approximately 400,540 children are in foster care as of September 30, 2011, which same-sex couples can adopt (“ How many children are in foster care in the U.S.? In my State?”). Many also oppose homosexuality because it is a sin, but it seems that many fail to remember that comparing themselves with others, disrespecting parents, and committing adultery are also sins too.
With these reasons considered, same-sex marriages should be legalized. I do not understand why there is a need for our whole nation to vote whether or not a couple should be able to marry each other because they are homosexual. Love has no boundaries, no restrictions, for it is free for everyone to experience, so support the legalization of same-sex marriages.
He continues to support the main claim by showing his knowledge of married couples’ legal rights. He explains that homosexual couples that are not allowed to marry are denied tax breaks, group insurance, and pension programs (Stoddard, 1988, p. 551). These are important grounds,...
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.
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.
While the gay rights movement has been around for some time, the things that they fight for is forever changing. Currently it is fighting for the right to marry, and receive all the rights straight people get when they marry. Married privilege is like white privilege; married people have more rights then non-married people, no matter what sex a person is married to. These benefits include insurance coverage’s under a spouse policy, social security benefit inheritance, receiving pension and personal assets without taxation, visitation rights at the hospital without question and making health care decisions (LaSala, 2007). In addition to all that, there is a social benefit to being married; it represents a healthy, developed and normal relationship (LaSala, 2007). Before reading this article, I never thought about why married people are given all of these rights. I never thought about where they came from, who made them up, or why they were even made. Why are we fighting for legalizing same-sex marriage a...
In this age of liberation and relative morality it is no surprise that homosexuals have tried very hard to gain ground in the way of civil rights. Homosexuals say they want equal rights, and they want homosexual-marriages to be legalized. However, what they are asking for is not reasonable. They are humans; and therefore they already have the same rights as every other human living in America. What homosexuals want are special privileges and the acceptance of homosexuality as a natural alternative lifestyle, second, marriage is already clearly defined, and third because homosexuals already have the same rights, they want special privileges, and since homosexuality is not an innate quality they don’t deserve them. People who have been misinformed about what the homosexual agenda is think that homosexual marriage is natural and that it should be legalized. I however, am opposed to this because homosexuality is not a natural alternative lifestyle. First let’s define homosexuality. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, homosexuality is “having a sexual orientation to persons of the same sex.” Men and women are obviously biologically different. “People of the same sex having intercourse goes against what is biologically natural” (Baird 114). Part of the homosexual agenda is to make people believe that homosexuals are the same as heterosexuals when it comes to engaging in sexual behavior. This is absolutely not true. In Michelangelo Signorile’s book Cassel’s Rawlings 2 Queer Companion, a dictionary of lesbian and gay life and culture, he describes some of the sexual activities that homosexuals practice. These includes “fisting, when one partner shoves his whole hand up the anus of the other partner” (Signorile 96). In the essay Homosexual Rights: What’s Wrong, written by Brad Hayton and John Eldrege, they stated that “The U.S. taxpayer-funded Mapplethorpe photos. . . portraying typical homosexual behavior: fisting, urinating into anothers mouth, and andomasochism. The average homosexual has 10-106 different partners per year--300-500 in a life time” (Hayton 2). How can this be compared to heterosexual intercourse? How is this natural? It isn’t; this type of sexual behavior- even if it were practiced by heterosexuals- cannot be considered natural, in fact there are many states that have anti-sodomy laws though not enforced. As part of their agenda homosexuals not only want these things to be accepted and protected by the government, they also want them to be taught in public school as part of the sex education curriculum.
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
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.
In Conclusion, In conclusion, the same sex marriage should be legalized. It is human civil rights, it is encourage family’s value and increase child adoption. Two people of the same sex who love each other should be allowed to publicly celebrate their commitment and receive the same benefits of marriage as opposite sex couples. All lovers should be granted the final gift of marriage, because marriage is an inalienable right of humans.
In recent years, same-sex relationships have become more encompassing in US society. State legislation is changing such as accepting gay marriages, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and legal gay adoptions; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is becoming public. Gay-headed families, like heterosexuals, are diverse and varying in different forms. Whether a created family is from previous heterosexual relationships, artificial insemination, or adoption, it deserves the same legal rights heterosexual families enjoy. Full adoption rights needs to be legalized in all states to provide a stable family life for children because sexual orientation does not determine parenting skills, children placed with homosexual parents have better well-being than those in foster care, and there are thousands of children waiting for good homes.
There are many reason why gay adoption is banned and why people object to it. Some people like Bill Maier, a child psychologist working with the conservative Focus on the Family, would say, “Children in foster care ‘are already scarred’ by abuse and neglect, we would want to do everything we could to place them in the optimal home environment” (Watson). Foster children would prefer a loving and nurturing home with a gay couple, rather than move around from foster parent to foster parent. Foster children are often victims of "foster care shuffle." For example, a child can live in twenty different homes before he or she turns eighteen. Anna Freud, a child psychologist, wrote “a child can handle almost anything better than instability”
Adoption is a very important part of the American lifestyle. The welfare of children needs to be put in front of homophobia. There are an estimated 500,000 children in foster care nation wide, and 100,000 of these children are awaiting adoption. In 2013, only one child of every six available for adoption was actually adopted. (Sanchez, 13) Statistics like these show the true importance of adoption. People seem to prefer to have their own children biologically, but adoption should be taken into consideration, even if natural conception is possible.
There is an abundance of children in the U.S. lacking a home and a family, that of which a gay couple could provide. Some states have legalized joint gay adoption, while others are still on the fence about it, and would rather not pass the law. A reason why those states should pass the law is, because of the foster care system. Many children, whether it’s a boy or girl, can jump to and from at least twenty homes before they turn 18. Some would be against the gay adoption, because they feel like the child would choose their sexual orientation based off what they see their adoptive parents doing. Those people fail to realize that having gay parents wouldn’t affect the child’s sexual preference. Just like having hetrosexcual parents cannot change a child from being gay. Lastly, another reason why gay adoption should be legalized nationwide is because, many people use their judgement from religious background to vote “NO” on joint gay adoption. When the 1st amendment clearly states that there needs to be a separation between church and
... the past several years is the same-sex family. Since the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, changing attitudes have brought more tolerance to the gay and lesbian community. This has somewhat loosened the stigma previously associated with this segment of the population. Along with evolving public attitudes, economic and legal changes in the United States have also reduced barriers previously facing same-sex couples making it more likely for them to form families (Butler, 2004). On the other hand, continued strong institutional ties to marriage between one man and one woman continue to pose problem for this group and shape social agendas (Glenn, 2004; Lind, 2004). While several states and many employers have given recognition and benefits to homosexual partners, there is still no uniform policy in place which addresses their familial rights in the United States.
Same sex marriage should be legalized. Gays and lesbians deserve to have the same rights in their unions as heterosexuals have. It is important to legalize same sex marriage because:
On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Should gay marriages be legal? Clearly we as a nation are undecided on this issue. Thirty-six states have passed legislation banning gay marriages, yet a few states have passed laws that allows homosexual couples the right to participate in civil unions. Several other states are also debating whether or not to allow these couples to marry. Unfortunately, the dispute has left the United States' homosexual community in an awkward position. There are some people who think that gay people have no rights and should never be allowed to marry, and others believe that gay people should enjoy the same rights and privileges as heterosexuals. I think that the United States should allow same-sex couples to marry just like heterosexual couples.