Equal Rights for Same-Sex Couples Essays

The United States of America was founded as a secular sanctuary for ideals like freedom, equality, and tolerance – few will argue against that. Over its history American culture has radically evolved as it strived to meet the ideals its nation was based upon, making changes like ending slavery and providing legal equality for women and minorities, changes that at the time seemed absurd but today are unquestionable merits that define what an “American” is. The quest to reach the ultimate utopian society continues today as true Americans fight the evils of ignorance, stubborn bigotry and the fear to change that still manifest themselves in a large portion of U.S. citizens, preventing this nation from moving forward. One of the outstanding minorities still left to be granted the ideals of freedom, equality, and tolerance are homosexuals trying to obtain the right to marry the person they want to spend the rest of their life with, regardless of gender. Same-sex marriages should be recognized in the eyes of the U.S. government in accordance with its responsibility to provide all American citizens equal freedoms.

benefits of marriage. However, they argue that a gay partnership should not have the designation

Marriage is universally understood to be the legal union between a man and a woman. This acknowledgement, however, has recently generated dispute and controversy in certain individuals, primarily homosexuals and supporters of homosexual marriages. This opposition, due to this mainstream view, exists because certain states such as Minnesota deny same-sex marriages.

The United States Constitution protects certain liberties in the Bill of Rights and rights deemed “fundamental” that are “traditionally protected by our society.” (Michael H. v. Gerald D.). The liberty at issue in this case is the right to marry, which has been deemed fundamental by this Court in Loving v. Virginia, where we stated that “[t]he freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.” (Loving v. Virginia). The petitioners in the case at bar seek that liberty by marrying someone of the same sex and having their marriages be equal to traditional, opposite-sex couples.

The Supreme Court ruled that it was not unconstitutional to not give the couple a license (Minnesota Reports 310-311). Not until 2004 did the United States have a state, Massachusetts, which permitted same-sex marriage (Hackl, Boyer, and Galupo 1). There are many reasons why gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual would like to become married. There are financial benefits, legal benefits, physiological benefits, as well as stability (Karasu 13). Some of the legal benefits are martial tax deduction, social security, I.R.A. benefits, Inheritance, health insurance, hospital visits, and even receiving tuition

Advocates, prove their counter-argument by saying such denial is the violation of human rights for civil and religious freedom, which the United States commonly stands by. Additionally, they state the social status of homosexual couples being unmarried does not entitle them to receive several medical benefits, such as joint ownership or medical and insurance decision-making capabilities. Nowadays after getting married in Texas, the LGBT community faces numerous challenges linked to social integration. Normally, each individual is aimed to being recognized and respected by the rest of society, but due to the bias judgments and prejudice against homosexuals, they are often treated as outcasts such as a lack in the above mentioned benefits and opportunities. On the other hand, homosexuals claim the legalization of their relationships with the help of marriage is the only way to fight discrimination held against sexual

Marriage is a huge milestone for millions of Americans. It is considered one of the most powerful declarations of love and dedication to be legally recognized as a couple. But what if they could not do so? Unfortunately, for hundreds of thousands of gay citizens, this nightmare is a reality. Marriage is not only about love, it also offers many benefits (around 1,200!), of which only about 350 are offered to same-sex couples in civil unions. It is also dehumanizing, as it is a clear violation of the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection to all citizens. If, under the current interpretation of the amendment, gay people are not considered “citizens,” what does that make them? The inferiority of civil unions as opposed to marriages also

In 2004, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, the District of Columbia and two Native American tribal jurisdictions have legalized same sex marriages. As the years go on, more and more same sex couples will continue to fight for their right to marry who they choose and more states will eventually allow same sex couples their rights to marry whomever they choose (Koppelman, 2004).

Same-sex marriage and straight marriage do not have the same rights. Same-sex couples are denied equal access to civil marriage. If same-sex couples enter a civil union they are denied equal access to all the benefits, rights, and privileges provided federal law to married couples. Being denied to all these rights they should have may harm people who also experienced discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, gender, and religion. The APA (American Psychological Association) believes it is unfair to discriminate and deny same-sex couples legal access to civil marriage and all of the benefits, rights and privileges. (Wikipedia)

Doma or The Defense of Marriage Act was passed in 1996 in efforts to stop same-sex marriages in fear of the debate in Hawaii. Doma this labeled gays as immoral, perverse, depraved, and an attack on God’s principles. Congress passed Doma defining marriage as between a women and a man for the first time in history (Stone, 2012). Congress was clearly influenced by religious beliefs in passing Doma, which makes this unconstitutional. The United states government provides many benefits to married couples such as federal employees are entitled to medical coverage, the spouse of an individual covered by Social Security is eligible for retirement and survivor benefits, and married couples who file joint tax returns usually pay considerably lower federal income taxes than individuals who file separately (Stone, 2012 p.1). However, gay couples are refused these rights under law. Gay couples are denied many rights making them second class in the eyes of the government. If the partner of a gay couple was to be hospitalized the other can be denied rights to see them because they are not considered family. If the partner was to pass away the family can come in and make all the decisions even though it might be against the wishes of the deceased. The family can then take everything away from the surviving partner that dedicated their life and love to. The

At the least a homosexual couples would like to be able to say they are a family under federal law. If heterosexual couples are able to file joint taxes and put their name on the same piece of land then homosexual couples should have the same right. It is discrimination against homosexuals to deny them of this right. If civil unions were allowed the same rights as a married couple without being under the name of marriage then both sides would be happy. The people on the side against marriage would be happy that they would not be classified under that word. And the side for it would be happier because they

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

While seventeen states have already granted couples the right to marry whom they love regardless of gender, the rest of the country continues to forbid same-sex couples to marry (Ahuja) and in doing so, infringe upon one of the most basic freedoms we are allowed. Arguments for same-sex marriage, despite being backed up with hard legal evidence and Supreme Court rulings, continue to face opposition on the grounds of religious beliefs and personal values.

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? Why should our nation accommodate such a dreadful Supreme Court ruling? Gay couples have become a major problem for our children. Children only repeat what they hear, see, and other habits from their role models. Our children are the ones who are being subjected to these horrifying situations.

State governments have been placing bands on gay marriage since the mid 1990,s. More than 80 anti-marriage bills have come into effect, beginning in 1996. Congress passed and President Clinton signed the “Defense of Marriage Act”. This bill was also passed in 1996 and defined marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman. This prevented same sex couples, spouses from receiving benefits from the government and their job. Since then nine states have not banded gay marriage: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Vermont.