Gay Couples Should Be Legal

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.

The massive amount of people who believe and support LGBT should have the same human rights and equality say, “it's only fair they receive the same liberty to love who they love.” (Texas, Democratic Party, 1) Throughout the years, same sex marriage supporters have been increasing; “81% of adults under 30 now support marriage equality.”(Texas Democratic Party, 1). People have been making an effort to fight this case even since the beginning of the gay rights movement in the 1960s-1970s. Even before that though, homosexuals have tried to be seen equal, and of course, have an aspiration to be able to obtain the same rights as everyone else, which is to win over the Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed in 1996 by Presidential Clinton to be able to marry the person they love regardless of what their gender

According to the Williams Institute, in the United States homosexuals are a minority, making up only three and a half percent (3.5%) of the adult population. Although it sounds like few people, that is over eight million adults who are being denied their basic rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is unjust for American citizens who pay taxes, work, and live like other Americans to not have the same rights because they love someone who is the same gender as they are. A fraction of the United States does allow same-sex marriages, but it is not allowed in all states, and it is unconstitutional to deny homosexuals their basic human rights in any area of the United States. Although America is slowly progressing towards equality, the United States is falling far behind the rest of the world,

     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

Firstly, Marriage Equality and the Gay Rights Movement have a history dating back to 1970. "On May 18, 1970, two University of Minnesota students, Richard John 'Jack ' Baker and James Michael McConnell applied to Hennepin County District Court clerk Gerald Nelson for a marriage license. He denied the application, because the applicants both were men.” (ProCon.org) January 1st of 1973, Maryland was the first state to pass a stature banning marriage between same-sex couples. (Wolfson, par. 2) Several other states followed suit up through 1975 and from 1975 through the early 1990’s were fairly quiet. Then in 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in Baehr v. Lewin that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the Equal Protection

A gay couple from Indianapolis who have waited to marry for years have been quoted as saying: “We 're positive because the mindset in this nation seems to be that it is unconstitutional to say that our marriages are different from any other marriage.” (pro-con,1) This means that gay people are staying optimistic. Prohibiting gay marriage is considered discrimination to gays because the government is not giving homosexual couples the same rights as gay heterosexuals, which is also unconstitutional. Therefore, same-sex couples should have access to the same marriage benefits and public acknowledgment enjoyed by heterosexual couples. (pro-con,1)

Gay marriage has slowly become a significant factor amongst individuals of today’s society. On June 26, 2015, it was ruled out by the U.S. Supreme Court that gay marriage was now legal. The first thing that I thought was that “Wasn’t it already legal in the United States?” Well, apparently no it has not been legalized in the United States! (Dumb me.) The U.S. is known to be a nation of equality and gives everyone the freedom of the speech, but it is actually a nation full of racism, sexism, and homophobias. Our country gives us the freedom to do many things, but to gay couples they don’t have much freedom as others do. We are violating their freedom because we aren’t letting them marry the one they love, so to say that everyone in the U.S. has the freedom to do anything is wrong. Our civil rights and the Constitution give us many liberties. One of our civil liberties is the pursuit of happiness, which many homosexual people are not allowed to chase, but thanks to the new ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court homosexual people are allowed to chase it. They are being looked down at and are feeling ashamed of themselves because of all the cruelty that they are receiving. Homosexual people haven’t been able to fully express themselves until it was legalized for them to fully do so. They have been fighting for the right to be married to their same sex for about a decade now, and they have finally met their goal. #Lovewins.

Gay rights and marriage equality has always been a major issue. Not only in the United States, but all throughout various cultures in the world. One of the main reasons why it is not widely accepted is due to religious or cultural reasons. Thankfully, more people have become more accepting of it and keeping an open mind about it. As of June 26th, 2015, gay marriage has has finally been legalized in all 50 states. However, there are still people who do not agree with it and still try to vote against it. Some Americans even want laws made to ban same-sex marriage and relations again. Although the legalization of same-sex marriage has been accomplished, most people continue to fight against those who still discriminate against the LGBT community.

Over the past five years same-sex marriage has become one of the most controversial issues in the United States, many social activist strive to aid homosexuals and their fight to legalize same-sex marriage. Marriage is a fundamental right not a privilege. Gay men and women should not be discriminated against based on their sexuality. Marriage is a sacred bond between two people that love each other no matter the sex, race, or religion. Everyday homosexuals are treated unfairly; most were born gay and cannot help their feelings. Being gay in America today is very difficult, you have to hide who you are just to be accepted. All homosexual’s really want is to be treat fairly and to get all the right they deserve, like

Same-sex Marriage is a controversial topic. Everyday across the country, there are news stories about acts of discrimination, violence, or hate crimes against same-sex couples. It is very often criticized and looked down upon because many people think that this act is “against the bible”, or it’s “disgusting”, “gross”, or “not natural”. The discrimination against same-sex marriage is preposterous and discouraging. If you really think about it, they’re just the same as any other sexuality. We all have the same hopes and dreams. We all want happy, fulfilling lives, with families and successful careers. When we’re hurt, we all bleed the same blood. “All men are created equal”, yet gays and lesbians are treated worse than other people everyday.

Since religion plays a huge part in America and its government, for many years gays did not have the right to marry, because it was consider as a “sin.” As Kory Schaff says in his article entitled, “Equal Protection and Same-Sex Marriage,” “Religious views that condemn homosexuality continue to influence the exercise of political coercion resulting in the use of state power to deny individuals equal protection” (133). There are still thousands of people who view gay as a “sin” and are actually not happy with the recent changes that happened in favor of gay people. But what made the government change its ideas and laws was the LGBTQ rights movements. Thousand of people, gay or not, came together and started peaceful marchs and praids to support LGBTQ community and fought for their rights, and they were successful to achieve what they wanted. But it is important to realize that they didn’t only wanted the right of marriage. That was a huge part of it, but they are still having marchs and praide because

Recently, controversies have been witnessed concerning the issues of gender and sexuality. For example, the US government has issued directives regarding the legality of same-sex relationships. Several states in America have legalized homosexuality while the others have remained adamant to accept such sexual orientations. Same-sex and transgender couples have been facing prejudice, discrimination, and hatred from the general public that supports heterosexual relationships. However, the legitimacy of any form of sexuality should be determined following an empirical research and analysis rather than drawing conclusions from unsubstantiated arguments. The most common

“We’re here, we’re queer, get over it.” In 1990, these words, shouted and displayed proudly on signs waved by the activist group, Queer Nation, were revolutionary. Never, not since the Stonewall Riots, had non-straight, non-cis people been so vocal about their existence and demanded acceptance – something that straight people take for granted on a daily basis. However, in the years since the Riots, LGBT activism has become much more mainstream, no longer whispered about behind closet doors or something to be wholly ashamed of. Gay marriage is legal in all 50 United States, something that has been fought for since the conception of the LGBT movement. In fact, gay couples are routinely being featured on popular television and other forms of media. Some might say that in 2016, the dreams of the rioters in Stonewall have been realized. Marriage rights and the spotlight on nighttime television; equality seems to truly be right on the horizon.

The Gays Rights Movement has existed for over 89 years in counting since the development of the Society for Human Rights in Chicago. The public national discussion around same-sex marriage first began in 1993 when the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that laws denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated state constitutional equal protection rights unless the state could show a "compelling reason" for such discrimination. Since that time, many states have taken actions to clearly define marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman and others have allowed same-sex couples to marry. It is wrongful to create laws that reduce the rights of one group of people, therefore gay couples should be allowed to marry and enjoy the same rights as heterosexual married couples.

Gay marriage is in fact a controversial topic that many people feel strongly about. I believe that gay marriage should be legalized without being penalized by people who disagree with it. I will, within reason, explain to you why gay marriage should be legalized and argue against Karlee’s essay about why gay marriage shouldn’t be legalized.