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The history of same-sex marriage paper
Bibliography of homosexual marriage
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Same-sex marriage should not be illegal in the the United States for several reasons. Firstly, the United States was founded on principles of freedom, and equality. Laws prohibiting same-sex marriage discriminate against same-sex couples, as they deny them the many benefits that accompany legal marriage. Secondly, there are no valid, rational arguments against same-sex marriage from a legal point of view, therefore its illegality is baseless. Thirdly, the legalization of same-sex marriage would likely actually be beneficial in many of the circumstances in which it is claimed to be harmful, such as adoption and fidelity. Any of these reasons alone should be enough to bring about the legalization of gay marriage in every state, and together they form both a comprehensive testimony for the allowance of same-sex marriage, and an incontestable defense against its opposition.
“The fourteenth amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America states that ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws’” (Cornell). This amendment was passed to make sure that people would be treated equally, and given equal opportunities. Denying same-sex couples the right to marry goes against the fourteenth amendment, by not giving same-sex couples the opportunity to receive many of the benefits of marriage, such as the ability to...
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...ame-sex Parenting. American Family Association, 13 May 2009. Web. 28 May 2014.
"ADOPT VIETNAM." Adverse Impacts on Children Living in Orphanage Institutions. Adopt Vietnam, n.d. Web. 28 May 2014.
"APA on Children Raised by Gay and Lesbian Parents." Http://www.apa.org. American Psychological Association, 13. Web. 28 May 2014.
Medical.net. "1,500 Animal Species Practice Homosexuality." 1,500 Animal Species Practice Homosexuality. Medical.Net, n.d. Web. 27 May 2014.
"SPLC Classifies AFA as a Hate Group." Southern Poverty Law Center. Southern Poverty Law Center, n.d. Web. 28 May 2014.
"Gay Marriage ProCon.org." ProCon Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.
Cornell. "14th Amendment." LII / Legal Information Institute 14TH AMENDMENT. Cornell, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.
"Logical Fallacies." Logical Fallacies Slippery Slope Fallacy Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.
Linder, Doug. "The Nineteenth Amendment." The Nineteenth Amendment. University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School, 2001. Web. 19 Dec. 2013. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/nineteentham.htm
For some background, this case escalated to the Supreme Court since several groups of same-sex couples from different states, sued state agencies when their marriage was refused to be recognized. As it escalated through appeals, the plaintiffs argued that the states were violating the Equal Protection clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal Protection, according to the Constitution refers to the fact that, “any State [shall not] deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” (23). The opposition of this case was that, 1) The Constitution does not address same-sex marriage as a policy, and 2) The sovereignty of states regarding the decision. Ultimately, and according to the Oyez project, the Court held that “[the Amendment] guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects, and that analysis applies to same-sex couples,” and therefore, same-sex marriage is a fundamental liberty.
“The US Constitution: 14th Amendment.” The 14th Amendment. N.p., n.d. . Rpt. in The U.S. Constitution. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. The 14th Amendment. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. .
"Bill of Rights and Later Amendments." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
University of Minnesota Human Rights Library . All Amendments to the United States Constitution. N/a. 22 Nov, 2013 .
Pappas, Stephanie. “Why Gay Parents May Be the Best Parents” LiveScience. January 15, 2012. Web. May 4, 2014.
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 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. 1,500 Animal Species Practice Homosexuality. News - Medical - Medical. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web.
Homosexuals, targets of discrimination and social injustice, deserve to have equal opportunities and rights as every other person in America, homosexual or straight. Homosexual marriages are accepted already by the Constitution, and they offer nothing but economic and social benefits if legalized, therefore there is no real reason as to why homosexual marriages should not be legalized.
Furthermore, the word "equal" in section 1 of the 14th amendment implies that everyone should have the right to get married no matter what his or her sexual preference. Marriage is the legal and public documentation of the love and trust two people share for each other. This means that anyone should be able to marry whomever he or she wishes.
Schüklenk, Udo, Edward Stein, Jacinta Kerin, and William Byne. "The Ethics of Genetic Research on Sexual Orientation." Reproductive Health Matters 6.12, Sexuality (1998): 134-43. JSTOR. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. .
Doak, Melissa J. "Children adopted from the public foster care system, 2001." Growing Up in America, 2005 ed., Gale, 2010. Information Plus Reference Series. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Accessed 2 Mar. 2017.
There indicators of child developmental outcomes were categorized into parent and child relationship quality, children’s cognitive development, children’s gender role behavior, children’s gender identity, children’s sexual preference, and children’s social and emotional development. There analysis showed that children with same-sex parents fared equally to children raised by heterosexual parents when comparing developmental outcomes. Same-sex parents also reported a significantly better relationship with their children than heterosexual parents, which was measured by the parent or child perception of the quality of their relationship. This goes back to the argument that parent sexuality has no impact on the child but rather the relationship between the parent and the child has is the most impactful. In Crowl, Ahn and Baker (2008) meta-analysis study also found that the parent sexual orientation had no effect on gender identity, cognitive development, psychological adjustment, and sexual
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.