Gay Marriage Should Be Legalized

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.

One regular issue that faces gay and lesbian couples that are denied the right to have a legal marriage is their powerlessness to claim their accomplice 's government managed savings (social security) after he or she has passed on. A number of human right groups are working to accomplish equivalent rights for lesbian, transgender individuals, bi-sexual and gay. They accept, "Any form of change to the Social Security framework must incorporate the issue of partners of gays and lesbians in its meaning of survivor Benefits". At present, there are no projects that give gay people survivor benefits like the ones that are

In addition to the hostility and embarrassment that homosexuals face every day, they also encounter political and legal policies and practices that prevent them from living a normal life like heterosexual people. For example, there are laws that prevent people of the same gender to be legally married to each other such as proposition eight in California. Gay people just want the right to be able to be happy with a significant other, make a family, and show their loyalty in each other through marriage. There is no difference whether that significant other is of the same gender or opposite, at the end of the day they just want that chance of happiness just like everyone else. Unfortunately, there are laws in places that prevent that from becoming true. Not allowing homosexuals to marry can affect many people’s lives and can even be detrimental to one’s health. For example in the article “The Case of Sharon Kowalski and Karen Thompson: Ableism,

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)

The argument is much deeper then weather or not they should be married because they share a home together. If couples are paying taxes to build roads and help public schools, they should be afforded the same rights the heterosexual couples have. This was the argument used in the Baker v. Vermont. In the Baker v. Vermont court case, “gay and lesbian couples had argued that they were denied the protection of more than 300 laws as a result of not being allowed to marry.” Homosexuals are finally suing the state because they are not receiving protection under the laws of state strictly because they are gay. The Vermont House of Representatives voted in favor of a same-sex civil union bill after the case resolved. This shows that looking at the matter as a legal issue, it is evident that gay couples are not regarded equally in the eyes of the law, and that the first steps to fix this social injustice are just now being taken, however, the vote is very close. Same-sex civil unions are a basis for nation-wide legal recognition of same-sex relationships. These same-sex civil marriages are demonstrating that the principals of “marriage” and the rights an American deserves, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation, can be respected.

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

America! What image of America is instilled in your mind? Perhaps a land where there are strong, hardworking men and women, whose children play baseball in the summer, get great grades in the school year, and even attend church every Sunday as a family. These are qualities of a traditional American family, increasingly becoming a thing of the past. We once were a God fearing nation and we’ve become a God challenging nation. America would lose its luster if gay marriage was legalized. Six states have already legalized gay marriage and approximately 41% of the United States population supports gay marriage (“Gay Marriage Statistics”). We all claim there is someone for everyone, and if someone loves another person, then let them be, but there is no value or moral in this

The ones who suffer the greatest repercussions of such prejudices are the children of gay and lesbian couples. Non-biological children of gays and lesbians cannot receive survivor benefits if the deceased partner did not legally adopt them. But how is this related to whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to marry? Same-sex couples do have the privilege of adopting children to begin a family of their own. However, they are often rejected because of their unmarried status. Even if the government does not wish to provide some financial security for homosexual couples, it should not punish the children of such relationships. The government directly discriminates against the children of same-sex marriages by not allowing them the same rights as children who have heterosexual parents. Children do not chose who their parents are regardless of your stance on the issue. The Human Rights Campaign has adopted the idea that, “any change must also define survivor to include non-biological children of gays and lesbians found in the changing American family” (Survivor Benefits 2). This is absolutely necessary because it is absurd that innocent children are being denied basic rights due to the sexual orientation of their parents. Death is a painful enough experience; nobody should not have to worry about their financial standings with the government after dealing

For many years, gay marriage has been banned in most states in the United States. Today there are 14 out of 50 states who ban same-sex marriage but, things are changing and people are taking a stand in what they believe in (ProCon.org.). However, some people still don’t find gay marriage socially acceptable. In 2008, California’s Congress passed Proposition 8 which claimed that gay marriage was unacceptable. This caused controversy with their views that homosexual relationships were “unworthy of respect, dignity, and status that society accords to marriages”(Olson). Conservatives and fundamentalist suspect that if gay marriages were accepted and legal in all states, our country would eventually become weak and our society would become at risk. They claim that it would somehow lead to legalized polygamy and interspecies marriages which would tear our country apart. The Marriage Debate states that the Supreme Court shouldn’t allow the political processes of the states to debate on whether same-sex marriage should be legal because it would then lead the states to begin to discriminate and cause pain and humiliation to gay men, lesbians, and their kids for as long as they wish. Therefore, the Constitution forbids this. I believe if homosexuals want to express their love through getting their marriage legalized, it should be acceptable in all states.

“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.

Gay marriage is between partners of the same sex. Gay marriage is one of the most controversial issues in the modern world. For the past thousand years, marriage has been known to be the social union between a man and a women. In most cultures around the world, homosexuality was seen as wrong, and marriages between same-sex couples was forbidden.

One common problem that have deeply effected gay and lesbian couples is that they are unable to claim their partner 's social security. The Human Rights Campaign, which work to achieve equal rights for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender people, is supporting the effort to claim their partner 's social security. Currently, there are no programs that give homosexuals survivor benefits like the

There are numerous opinions and standing views on gay marriage. The argument regarding gay marriage should be legalized or not is extremely controversial. For the past thousand years, marriage has been recognized as the social union between a man and a woman. In most cultures across the globe, homosexuality was viewed with condescension, and marriages between same-sex couples were forbidden. However, homosexual relationships are slowly gaining acceptance, as homosexuals have become vocal in fighting their right to marry in the early 90s. With an increased in tolerance for homosexuality in the society, the controversy over the legalization of gay marriage has been disputed among people in many nations. While the majority of the population believes that the legalization of gay marriage will have negative impact on the society, gay activists claim that it is against basic civil rights to prohibit them from marrying. I am going to state the reasons why I do not agree with gay marriage and the negative effects it has on todays society.

On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. This is additional proof of something we have been taught in schools all our lives. America is the land of the free, which gives each legal citizen the right of privacy, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. If you are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist, you are welcome in this country.

Since the first same-sex marriage occurred in United States in 2004, the issue of gay people’s rights to get married emerged to the surface. Since then, multiple states have put forward their policies of gay marriage successively. Time has changed as the gay life style becomes more accepted by society--fourteen states have passed the law legalization of gay marriage, such as Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut. From 1988 when Baunach’s research (2012) showed a lot of “strongly disagree” attitudes towards same-sex marriage to 2009 when the ice cream producer Ben & Jerry’s temporarily changed the name of their best-selling Chubby Hubby ice cream flavor to Hubby Hubby in order to celebrate their home state Vermont’s decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples (Wettstein & Baur, 2015), these steps provide a huge impact towards the people of the United States and their attitude to accept changes, but it still remains unclear as to whether same-sex marriage legalization has a positive impact on the society. This paper will discuss popular opinions and research studies about the positive and negative sociological impacts on same sex couples.