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. …show more content…
The definition of gay marriage is “the marriage between partners of the same sex”. Many people are very against this practice, mainly because it’s “not normal”, not seen very often, and many people have very old-fashioned or conservative beliefs. Over the years, however, same-sex marriage has become somewhat more acceptable. The rate of approval went from twenty-seven percent in 1996 to sixty percent in 2015. This is caused by the increase in diversity in the US, causing more people to have an open mind and become more accepting Same-sex marriage was first in the spotlight in 1970 when a same-sex couple in Minnesota applied for a marriage license and were then denied. This was then turned into a case in the Supreme Court. Forty-five years later, on June 26th, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states. After “Obergefell v. Hodges”, the Supreme Court case that made same-sex marriage legal in all states, made their final decision. Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they …show more content…
On June 12, 2016, a young man named Omar Mateen entered a gay nightclub and shot and killed at least fifty people, along with fifty-three people injured. Officials said that this was the worst mass shooting in US history and the deadliest terror attack on US soil since the 9/11 bombing. Maybe, like other people, he thought that, if children were raised by same-sex couples, they were at a disadvantage or were contaminating our future. A while later, President Barack Obama called the shooting “an act of terror and an act of hate” He called Mateen “a person filled with hatred”. He also claimed that “ We’re going to do everything we can to help bring the community together”, and that is exactly what happened. Support came from all around the world in order to try and help the people affected by this shooting. Throughout all of the hatred, everyone came together to console each other, and many people, along with myself, prayed for everyone lost in this horrific
In 1988 the “American Republican President Ronald Reagan...[Authorized] all four of the court’s major gay rights ruling” (Reuters,2015). This is when America noticed that everyone should be given equal rights regardless of their orientation. Shortly after this proposal gay marriage had become legalized in 12 American states, however, 36 states are still banning gay marriage (Weese,2013).In 2010 American action, President Obama “signed a law allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S military(Reuters,2015).This step occurred in Canada many years ago as well as equality for the all so many smaller actions have been taken to end hate crime. In Canada, Regina Saskatchewan Police Services have created a Report Homophobic Violence, Period (RHVP) training seminar, with hopes to eliminate hate crime towards the LGBTQ community (Hamelin, pg.A.4). This program not only aims to educate the authority system about hate crime towards LGBTQ communities but it also informs the police services of positive stigmas to refer to. Programs similar to the Saskatchewan training seminar should be created so that the severity of hate crime offences towards the LGBTQ are acknowledge. In Canada, “Vancouver reported the highest proportion of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation (26%)” (Dowden, 2012).In 2009“74 per cent of hate crimes …were motivated by sexual orientation, with 63 per cent resulting in injury (Dowden, 2012). In recent hate crime studies a decrease in statistic shows that only “16% of motivated hate crimes…accounted for sexual orientation” (Dowden, 2012). But 65% of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation were violent” (Dowden, 2012). This shows that Canada is in fact taking an initiative to end the discrimination against the LGBTQ community but not taking in counter of the severity in which these cases are causing. In addition to hate crime statistics for the
The definition of marriage has changed over time. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the United States defined marriage as a union between a consenting man and woman, of non-African decent (Stahlberg, 2008, p. 443). This, however, changed after the civil war. In 1868 two consenting adults of opposite gender could marry someone of the same race, but this was also restructured in 1967 to allow marriage of all consenting adults of opposite genders regardless of race (Stahlberg, 2008, p. 443). Today, the law looks very different. Recently, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marriage (gay marriage, 2015).
Around the world, crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity are on the rise. According to 76crimes.com, the Trans Murder Monitoring project of Transgender Europe reported 1,731 transgender and gender-diverse people were murdered in more than 44 countries around the world between 2008 and 2014. Nearly 500 of those murders occurred between May 2013 and December 2014. According the FBI, approximately 1,200 out of 6,000 hate crimes committed in 2013 were based on sexual orientation in the United States.
Currently, in the United States there are 9 million people who are openly a part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community; that is roughly equivalent to the entire population of New Jersey. The LGBT community stands for and places their beliefs in equality, individuality, and pride. Despite their efforts, they are still faced with degrading discrimination and cruel hatred. Today, fourteen percent of all hate crimes are directed towards to LGBT community. (fbi.gov) The number of hate crimes towards the community is quickly increasing and evolving into a worldwide problem. One of the most recent and impactful hate crimes was in 2016 when a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was attacked by a gunman. That night, nearly fifty
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
All around the world, there are people with different sexualities; a tremendous amount of them are judged every day because of their sexuality. Not only did lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders fight for same sex marriage to be legal, but people who like the opposite sex did as well. For dozens of years, people have been wanting to legalize same sex marriage while others wished for same sex marriage to be banned. A myriad of individuals fought for this certain right. Those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or Transgender are judged religiously every day. Despite all the judgement, hate, disrespectful looks, and rude comments, they
Marriage is between a man and a woman. Or, at least, that is how The Defense of Marriage Act defines it. The act, passed in 1996, attempted to offer closure to Americans who wondered how to define marriage in the United States. American advocates for gay rights date back to the early 20th century, but true advancements in equality haven’t been made until the past ten years. Opponents of the act have argued that the decision breeds inequality and discrimination in a country that was founded to avoid the two. The opponents undoubtedly rejoiced on June 26, 2013 as the Supreme Court ruled that the wording used in section three of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. Section three of the act stated that marriage was “between one man and one woman” (Gaynor and Blesset, 2). The Defense of Marriage Act is under constant scrutiny and may be completely repealed due to increased awareness of human rights among Americans, a drastic change in American public opinion, and politicians facing loss of constituent support if they do not support gay rights and the associated legislation.
Life is hard. There are over seven-billion people in the world and each one of us are different; we vary through our physical appearances - our skin from the deepest ebony to the palest porcelain, our eyes can be akin to the chill in our bones or the darkest entropy behind our eyes. It isn’t all physical, of course. As people, we range in intelligence, religion (or lack thereof), even our sexual preferences - we are individuals. With so much variety, there is simply a basic need to have rights to express ourselves, to be ourselves without persecution. We require equal rights with fair treatment of everyone. Long battles have been fought from the beginning of human civilization, but we’re not done yet. In the supposed ‘Land of the Free’ where man, woman, and everything in between are supposed to stand united, marrying someone of the same sex is a very controversial topic among many due to institutionalized homophobia, something which had continually delayed the legalization… Until June of 2015.
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 marriage has been a recent controversy for many reasons. Many people (religious conservatives) believe that same-sex marriage is immoral, sinful, and threatens the traditional structure of a family. But gay and lesbian supporters feel marriage is a right that everyone should have, backed by the Due Process and Equal Protection of the Fourteenth Amendment. It has been proven that the outlook on gay marriage has changed drastically based simply on the fact that younger people had supported it and it just took time to gain enough approval from enough of the country to legalize it. Since most of 18-29 year-olds of 2006 supported same-sex marriage, “two-thirds of Americans think that same-sex marriage will eventually be legal in the United
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
Over the years in our country’s history it has been apparent that the idea of same sex marriages is becoming much more popular, however in most states there is still one thing stopping them. That one thing stopping two people from the pursuit of happiness which they desire is a social injustice. Social injustices are situations where a person or group of people is treated unfairly due to certain factors for example discrimination, prejudice, racism, heterosexism, sexism, and so forth. In the case of same sex marriages, the factor playing a major role in this social injustice is where most people believe that opposite sexes attract, but in the case of a same sex couple wanting to be married, this brings about many topics to be discussed by
Same Sex Marriage has become legal as of June 26, 2015 because the United States Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional to not allow same sex couples to be married. Same sex marriage was illegal in 13 States before the Supreme Court ruled in favor of it. Each Sate had been debating over this case sense September of 1996, going back and forth on legalizing it. Each State had laws on marriage. Some States deemed it unconstitutional to ban same sex marriage such as Hawaii, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Others such as Texas, Tennessee, and Utah saw marriage as between one man and one woman. Sense each State had their own laws on marriage each State could hold marriage in a way the seemed fit.
Ever since the time when America studied family values and focused on healthy and important influences, marriage was considered to be between man and woman holding a physical and spiritual bond between each other, not between man and man and woman and woman. Some may see marriage as between two people of the same gender, or what is known as same-sex marriage. This form of marriage became popular in the U.S. during the 1960’s and 1970’s due to the urge of legalization coming from many American citizens at the time. (“The Long Road to Marriage Equality”) Same-sex marriage became state-legal in 2004 with the first state being Massachusetts and became legal nationwide in June of 20154. This topic createsd controversy due to the fact