America Needs Same-Sex Marriage and Families Essay

Interestingly, a recent case has further infringed upon the ability of gay partners to adopt a child in their marriage, thus highlighting the precarious legal status of a gay parent. In the case of Amalia C. and Melissa M., “Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court judge, Margarita López Torres, ruled on Jan. 6 that because New York State had enacted same-sex marriage in 2011 and allowed both women to be listed on the boy’s birth certificate, Amalia was already the child’s parent and could not adopt him.” (McKinley) This ruling has been troubling to gay rights advocates “because the presumption of parentage may not be respected if they leave the state,” according to Susan Sommer, a lawyer with the Lambda Legal Defense Fund (McKinley). Judge Torres, however, has stated openly that her reason for the ruling was because it places gay marriage on a separate footing from traditional marriage and while she is sensitive to the needs of those whose marriages may not be recognized in another state, she must abide by the laws of New York, which do not allow a heterosexual spouse to adopt a stepchild (McKinley).

The readers of this article could possibly be those who do not accept same-sex couples raising kids. The opposite could be true and the audience might be for gay people who are interested in the development of laws allowing them to marry and raise kids. The author’s position recognizes the controversy behind same-sex couple raising children and the confusion with explaining it to children. However, she believes that people should learn to accept and respect these new developments in our

Laws have recently become the deciding factor for who is legally able to have a family. This is one of the most differentiating dissimilarities that these two families endure. In “How Law Shapes Experiences of Parenthood for Same-Sex Couples,” by Nicolas Park, Emily Kazyak, and Kathleen Slauson-Blevins the impact on the law has on gay, lesbian, and bisexual(GLB) parents is discussed. This represents the view from the United States perspective, as the study was done in California and Nebraska: “Law impacts the method gay men and lesbians use to become parents and their subsequent experiences as a family” (Park 121). Because, of these laws, so early in the process of making a family, the wellbeing of the child is ultimately

There are over 105 million households in the United States today and out of those households, there are over 1.2 million gay people living with same-sex partners (“Census on Gays in America”). This makes the proposed legalization of same-sex marriage one of the most significant issues in contemporary America. It is presently one of the most discussed reforms in law reviews and the American court systems. If legalized, it could be one of the most revolutionary policy decisions in the history of America, along with women’s rights, interracial marriage, and slavery. There are many people who are opposed and feel it is morally and ethically wrong and others who feel that same-sex marriages are acceptable. Prior to

As legal issues pertaining to homosexual have received more national attention, courts around the world have been reconsidering gays’ and lesbians’ rights in parenting and custody cases. But the general assumption that homosexual parents have adverse effects on the psychological and social development on a child makes it extremely difficult for gays and lesbians to become parents. However, the validity of this assumption is highly disputable as both parties claim to have statistical evident.

The topic of homosexual marriages, or the marrying of two people of the same sex, is rather disputed among the majority of people in today’s society. Only small amounts of the population have opinions that are strongly favoring one side of the debate. For most of society who are the middle-of-the-road citizens, it is a tough call to make one way or the other. The main topics that are disputed are raising children in a same-sex household, the capacity of churches to allow such a marriage, and the integrity of a marriage as a legal document. These arguments will be expressed through the viewpoints of Andrew Sullivan and William Bennett. Sullivan is the author of the essay “Let Gays Marry” which was printed by Newsweek in June of 1996.

According to a peer-reviewed study at the University of Melbourne, children raised by same-sex couples are more efficient than the general population on measures of general health and family unity. Several studies have been released in the past decade that proves gay and lesbian couples raise children just as effective and efficient, if not more effective and efficient, as those of heterosexual relations. As a former Washington post editor Ezra Klein said “We should be begging gay couples to adopt children. We should see this as a great boon that gay marriage could bring to kids who need nothing more than two loving parents.”. In America alone, there are over 115,000 children waiting to be adopted. A San Antonio based federal judge stated that the ban on gay marriages “Causes needless stigmatization and humiliation for children raised by the loving same sex couples being targeted.”. Kids which are raised by gay and lesbian couples tend to be more of a target for the bullies. While gay marriage is not accepted, it also gives these kids less stability within their relationship and reliability on their parents. They don’t have the assurance that those of married couples have. Important to realize, if a divorce takes place within the household of a gay couple, the child is not guaranteed to receive child

Gay parents are facing discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Twenty-two states currently allow single gays to adopt and 21 states currently allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt in the U.S. (Mallon, 2007, p. 6). The ability of gay couples to rear a child should not be denied only because they are gay. Homosexuals may be looked down upon by society, but they still are humans and have morals. These morals they possess, may influence a child more than those morals taught to a child with heterosexual parents. All over the world, children suffer in families consisting of alcoholics, drug abusers, and sexual abusers (Powell, 2007, p.1). It is not possible that these environments are safer than what would be provided by homosexual

It is often expressed by opponents of same-sex marriage and same-sex parents that creating a family with same-sex parentage will put the child at a disadvantage and is morally wrong. Belief that every child should either be raised by their biological parents or at least raised by a male and female partnership is often touted as reasoning against same-sex families. This is commonly expressed relating to the ‘rights’ of a child, for example, children have a right to a mother and father. However this notion of a ‘child’s right’ does not exist, there is no legally recognized right of this kind. (Simpson 2014) Notably, there is also no evidence that a child who grows up with single sex parents is in any way disadvantaged developmentally or physically. In fact, research indicates that kids of same-sex parents show few differences in achievement, mental health, social functioning and other measures and that these children may have the advantage of open-mindedness, tolerance and role models for equitable

Homosexual and Transsexual marriage has emerged a wedge in the partisan gap. On June 26th, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled gay marriage in all fifty states. As the laws have emerged, the rights of Gay and Lesbian parents have not advanced as rapidly. In jurisdictions where gay couples are not permitted to adopt, couples often decide one parent adopt or one parent conceives the child. The second parent then adopts the child by what is called second parent adoption. If the second parent doesn’t or cannot legal adopt the child they have no legal relationship with that child. This poses a problem if the child has fallen ill and needs a parent to make important life decisions or more commonly in break ups or divorce. If a separation occurs, it brings up other family court cases such as child custody and child support. If the parent has no legal relationship to the child, they in turn do not have any rights to child

This article discussed two opposing positions on whether or not same sex marriage should be legal. Theodore Olson argues for legal marriages while Lyle Denniston argues against. Theodore Olson viewpoint uses the US Constitution and the belief that all people are created equal as the support for his argument. He believes that same sex marriage is the natural evolution in equal rights and calls it “the last major civil-rights milestone yet to be surpassed in our two-century struggle” (McKee & Taverner, 2013, p. 118). Additionally he attempts to refute the justification behind California’s anti-gay marriage position. Specifically, he discredits the explanation of the tradition of husband and wife and the state’s interest in preserving procreation. As far as tradition he believes that traditions does not allow for progression or change and for procreation he argues that allowing same sex marriage would not reduce the number of heterosexual marriages and therefore would have not reduce the number of children. This sentiment was echoed by Justice

Gay Marriage should be kept legal and gays should have access to adoption and reproductive technologies. Two people who love each other, regardless of gender, should be able to get married because all people are equal! The significance of my research will impact my final opinion and thoughts on this paper and will determine if I think the same of this issue. My goal is to teach about the hard fought battle for marriage equality, the history of gay couples and information/laws on gay adoption and reproductive technologies. I hope to change some people’s negative opinions on this issue by showing them how hard gays have fought to be equal because “love is love and love has no labels”. Note- I will only cover Gay Marriage in the

The debate on marriage and parenting rights for gay and lesbian individuals has been one of the most hotly contested social issues in recent history. While many arguments are cited to prevent gay couples from enjoying equality, these arguments ultimately condense to concerns rooted in homophobia. Opponents of the LGBT community contend that same sex parenting contradicts the natural order of the world, subjects children to unnecessary societal stigma, and that the state has a right to favor heterosexual norms. However, these concerns are either unfounded or unjustly infringe on the rights of gay and lesbian couples. Consequently, there is no reason to prohibit gay or lesbian couples from obtaining custody of children.

America was made to be the land of the free. This country is suffused with equal rights for every citizen. Even if you differentiate the slightest bit, you still have equal rights. Or at least that’s what it’s supposed to be like. People with different sexual orientations supposedly don’t apply to that rule. If you are gay, a lesbian, or bisexual, don’t you think you should still have the same rights? Gay marriage has been legalized in America, but people still have a problem with letting things be.

In addition, same-sex marriages also can affect those who are raised by them as children. It was exposed that children raised by homosexual couples did worse than the offspring of heterosexual couples in nine of