The Legalization of Gay Marriage

The recent Olympic games held in Sochi has highlighted the injustices carried out against gay youth in Russia. In fact, many companies have come forth in their advertising to protest this, such as Google, Oreos, and Absolut Vodka. America seemed to be united against Russia's brutal treatment of homosexuals. And yet, it remains a hypocritical display, as America itself still doesn't allow homosexuals rights. One of these most prominent examples is the banning of gay marriage in a majority of states. This is wrong on many levels, but most primarily because the arguments against legalizing gay marriage are close-minded and foundationless. There are many reasons to legalize gay marriage. Firstly, to do otherwise would be unconstitutional. There would also be economic gain from the legalization of homosexual marriage. Plus, the popular claim that legalizing it would 'ruin the foundation of traditional marriage' is completely unfounded and incorrect.

As stated previously, banning gay marriage is completely unconstitutional. Often, when the concept of unconstitutionality is brought up, it is brought up on the side of those who are against gay marriage. They try to bring up the 'Freedom of Belief'. This idea that religion should even impact the legalization process is inane. As Nancy Cott, PhD, testified during Perry v. Schwarzenegger, "Civil law has always been supreme in defining and regulating marriage." [1] The act of banning gay marriage in itself is unconstitutional because homosexual marriage is "Unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.", as written by US District Judge Vaughn Walker on August 4, 2010, on the issue of Prop. 8 in California. In fact, the US Supreme Court ruled even way back in ...

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Works Cited

[1 & 2]Vaughn Walker, JD, Opinion, Perry v. Schwarzenneger, www.uscourts.gov, Aug. 4, 2010

[3]Kathryn Perry, "The Cost of Gay Marraige - In Dollars and Cents," Christian Science Monitor, May 27, 2009

[4]William C. Thompson, Jr., "Love Counts: The Economic Benefits of Marriage Equality for New York" , www.comptroller.nyc.gov, June 2007

[5]J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo, et al., "The Legal, Medical, Economic & Social Consequences of New Jersey's Civil Union Law" , www.nj.gov, Dec. 10, 2008

[6]Ross Douthat, "The Marriage Ideal," www.nytimes.com, Aug. 8, 2010

[7]Laura Langbein and Mark A. Yost, Jr., "Same-Sex Marriage and Negative Externalities," Social Science Quarterly, June 2009

[8]American Anthropological Association, "Statement on Marriage and the Family," www.aaanet.org, Feb. 26, 2004