Argumentative Essay on Gay Rights

“The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights

Attention getter: Discrimination against gay men and lesbian women has been socially recognized for hundreds of years and still continues today. Homosexuals have adopted children for many years, regardless of fear and prejudice. The controversy of this matter is why homosexuals are not presented the equal fairness of the process and open opportunity as heterosexual couples who seek to adopt or foster children. There is a certain extent to which the sexual orientation of couples (or single potential parents) seeking to adopt children impede on the opportunity to provide children with a permanent and stable home.

All families face challenges in their everyday life. For some, the challenges are easier to handle while for others, surmounting those challenges can be more difficult. Over the years, the LGBT community in the US has faced many hurdles. Whether it’s the legalization of same-sex marriage to adoption rights to alimony, child support and child custody in case of divorce, legislation specific to gay and lesbian couples still has a long way to go.

As far as this article goes, it supports the decision that children should be placed in a loving and caring home that will support them no matter the sexual orientation of the parents. Whether they are a homosexual or heterosexual couple should not deter a social worker from placing a child in the environment that will raise them to the best of their abilities. The author, Ellen Goodman, gives her own input where she brings up a child by the name of Ruthie. Ruthie is the daughter of two fathers, and was placed into their lives by a birth mother who chose to two fathers to raise their child. Facts are also given on the bases that out of all the couples that

It is true that marriage in this nation traditionally has been regarded as a relationship exclusively between a man and a woman, and many of our nation’s multiple religions define marriage in precisely those terms. But with the Supreme Court has always previously considered marriage in that context, the underlying rights and liberties that marriage embodies are not in any way confined to heterosexuals. One’s sexuality is not a preference, it is immutable, unchangeable, and the Constitution protects us all against prejudices and discrimination based on immutable differences. Not only is not allowing same-sex couples to marry discriminatory, it also makes gays second class citizens. When we as a nation refuse to accord the same marital status to gays and lesbians, we discourage same-sex couples from forming the same relationships we encourage for others, and we are essentially telling gays, those of who love them, and society as a whole that their relationships are less worthy, less legitimate, less permanent and less valued. By not legalizing same-sex marriages the US demeans their relationships and demeans gays as individuals. Same-sex marriages must be legalized.

     A debate is raging in America about who people have a right to marry. In response to lesbians and gays asking for the right to marry, many legislators are writing laws to ban same-sex marriage in their respective states. Even President Bush supports a Constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage (prez.bush.marriage/). Opponents of such legislation do not want discrimination passed into law and are protesting at every opportunity. One must understand the reasons that people want to ban same-sex

(Chiles) This study confirms that parenting by same-sex couples is the same or better than heterosexual homes and are more welcoming and ready to provide safety to children in contrast what other people say. Some people argue that children raised in a same-sex home can cause psychological damage but “high-risk children adopted from foster care do equally well when placed with gay, lesbian or heterosexual parents, UCLA psychologists report in the first multi-year study of children adopted by these three groups of parents.”(Wolpert). These studies also confirm that same-sex couples are indeed doing well raising children. No matter what gender or sexual preference, everyone should be equally treated and have same rights as anybody else. It hasn’t been proven that same-sex parents affect the development of a child’s life, in contrast, they have the opportunity to grow up in a home surrounded by the values of compassion and love. Question is, shouldn’t the main issue be what the best interest of the child is? When evaluating a potential person as a parent the main thing should be if the person is caring, stable and devoted not the individual’s sexual orientation. Homosexual’s parental

Homosexuals are additional parents that can be used for families for children in adoption agencies. “The number of children in Hennepin County waiting to be adopted has nearly quadrupled since 2009, to 339 children this year (Smith).” If only, in one county, there are 399 children waiting for a family, imagine around the world. These are children that could have a family if agencies weren’t homophobic and would allow homosexulas to adopt as a couple. “Individual state laws determine whether or not gay and lesbian individuals can adopt these children (Smith).” If the person in care of the kid, is homophobic or has anything against hoosexuals they can restrict the oppurtunity the kid had to a family by saying they think the homosexuals are eligible. Gay adoption being denied restricts kid from opportunities to having loving parents and a stable

In the past most adoption agencies were judgemental upon the homosexual community and would not allow them to adopt. Leaving thousands of the children within orphanages,with an expectancy of being adopted low. Children are the future for America today and it’s in their best interest to give them the opportunity to live in a household with parents that will give them the love and attention they need. Legalization of same-sex marriages facilitate adoption because those couples don’t have the ability of procreation and this gives them the chance to have a family. Some families believe that they will harm the idea of “traditional families” but in fact a 2009 study made by the Social Science Quarterly stated “laws permitting same-sex marriage or civil unions have no adverse effect on marriage, divorce, and abortion rates”. That it will not affect the families because of one homosexual family. A study that was initiated in 1986 to provide prospective data on the growth of a child within lesbian families showed that “adolescents who have been reared in lesbian-mother families since birth demonstrate healthy psychological adjustment” as said by the Pediatrics Committee on Psychological Aspects of Child and Family Health(Volume 126, Issue 1). That nothing was wrong with these children and it wasn’t the fault of the sexual orientation of the parent that affected the child.

Child welfare services and the ACLU would agree that thecircumstances remain ideal for the child because having homosexual parents poses nodisadvantage to children (ACLU 2).The gay community is becoming more and more prominent in American society. Whatwas once an extremely ³closeted´ life style, is integrating itself into our everyday lives. As morerights are granted to gay and lesbian people, the more normal they are going to seem to everyoneelse. I¶m confident that my future children will grow up accepting homosexuality and that astime goes on, so will the rest of the country. So if the gay community is going to become sosignificant in our lives, shouldn¶t we grant them equal rights? If we can accept gays and lesbiansas people, partners, workers, and friends, why can¶t we accept them as good parents? When youlook at it logically, the exclusion of homosexuals as adoptive parents just doesn¶t make sense.³Love makes a family, not biology or gender,´ says gay dad Robert Calhoun about hisexperience as an adoptive father. Calhoun and his partner Clay of Avondale Estates, Georgiahave adopted two children-- four-year-old daughter Rainey and eighteen-month-old son Jimmy.Calhoun adds, ³We¶re not moms, we¶re not heterosexual, and we¶re not biological parents, [but]we¶re totally equal and just as loving as female parents, straight parents, and biological parents.´(Gandossy 1 ) The Calhouns certainly seem capable of providing just as much love and

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

I am writing in regard to an article written by Leigh Keily. This article, “Liam Payne: On his wild nights, gay rights, and why homophobia should be a thing of the past,” published in Attitude's October edition, is contradictory to the LGBTQ+ community and is disparaging to your credibility as a pro-gay publication.

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people are discriminated against, terrorized, and protested against. They have barely any laws guarding their rights. All Americans are supposed to have all the rights needed for their pursuit of happiness, yet LGBTQ+ citizens do not. This needs to stop. And the U.S., while still quite far away, is slowly on its way to equity for all of its citizens. But good LGBT Americans are mostly treated unfairly.

Homosexuals should have the right to adopt. By allowing homosexuals the right to adopt, we are giving more children homes. The main concern with homosexuals becoming parents by

In this country there is a flawed assumption that gay people enjoy the same civil right protections as everyone else and there are a lot of stereotypes about gay relationships. Living as a gay individual in this country can be extremely overwhelming and scary. When it comes to marriage between gay couples, controversy is bound to turn up. There are numerous arguments as to why gay marriage is not “right” such as; it offends everything religion stands for, marriage is for procreation, and gay