Legalizing Gay Marriage

The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to

The problem of Suicide by LGBT Youth is that majority of them get bullied by their heterosexual peers. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014) Sometimes their parents will kick them out of the house because of their sexual orientation. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014) Myself being a part of the LGBTQ community, I never came out to my peers at school. I kept to myself so I never experienced the bullying due to my sexual orientation but I do hear the comments all the time by my father. My father always believed in a marriage should be a male and a female.

Is it okay to not believe in gay marriage, yet at the same time support the constitutional rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for homosexual couples? Even though most churches' beliefs conflict with marrying same-sex partners, government should not deny a person's right to their happiness; because any person, no matter race, color, sex, religion or sexual orientation, should be allowed to exercise their constitutional rights as Americans to pursue their happiness; and married gay couples should be able to have a spectrum of rights and benefits if their gay partnership is legalized.

“Being gay is much more profound than simply a sexual relationship; being gay is part of that person’s core identity, and goes right to the very center of his being. It’s like being black in s society of whites, or a blonde European in a nation of black Asians” (Tamara L. Roleff). Although marriage, cohabitation and parenting styles of homosexual families pose no threats to the heterosexual society; many still believe same-sex marriage goes against its true purpose. “At the national level, American public opinion on the issue remains split (44 percent support legalizing same-sex marriage; 53 percent oppose same-sex marriage in a May 2010 Gallup Poll) even as opposition toward legalizing same-sex marriage is at its lowest point in decades

Homophobia has been an uprising issue since the 80s, and it needs to be stopped before it gets more out of hand. Homophobia has been the motive behind various crimes; in just the US alone. One of the various crimes was the Pulse Club shooting in Orlando.(Attaiah) wrote after an interview with the shooter's father, “Mateenn(shooter) had seen two men kissing and was instantly enraged by what he saw.” The fact that someone's sexual preference is the cause of a mass shooting shows how homophobia is a major problem here in the US. Another issue with homophobia is that it is driving a vast amount of teens to suicide. Suicide rates have increased drastically for members of the LGBTQ community. (WONG) “Suicide rates amongst gay youths are devastating. With suicide becoming a far too common way “out” of unbearable homophobic condition.” Not only suicide in general, but there has been a trend of gay youths killing themselves because it is the only way “out”. Fortunately, a man by the name of Dan Savage is trying to help with that. He has created a project by the name of “It gets better project” which is for gay, lesbian, or Transgenders to have a “safe place”.

Gay marriage has been an issue for a very long time and since some states are legalizing it, many worry that it would soon be added as an amendment. The topic of gay marriage brings up religious, legal, and many other issues. In "What's wrong with Gay Marriage?" by Katha Pollitt, the author supports gay marriage and wants it legalized. She states that there is no problem with gay marriage and it's all a matter of separating the church and state. But in “Gay ‘Marriage’: Societal Suicide,” by Charles Colson, the author opposes the idea of gay marriage and states that it will destroy society. Marriage is intended to unite a man and a woman together to bring children into the world, but due to the same-sex marriage,

The members of the LGBT community have struggled a very long time through many obstacles and a lot of hatred in attempt to be accepted by the people of their community. Recently, America passed a law that made gay marriage legal, making progress on the community’s fight to abolish homophobia. Unfortunately, what many people don’t know, homosexuality still very, very illegal in 76 countries, punishments being imprisonment or worse. All around the world, 47.9% of LGBT males and 72.9% of LGBT females think about committing suicide, 29% of LGBT males and 52.4% of LGBT females attempt suicide, and 1 out of every 25 LGBT males and 2 out of every 25 of LGBT females who attempt at suicide succeed at it. Even though both Equiano’s and Wilson’s battles are over, this battle seems like it is just

Another area that demands acceptance towards sexual orientation is by parents. The average American has heard about an instance where someone “came out of the closet.” Although, most people don’t think about what happens after they tell their parents the truth about their sexuality. For millions of teens across America, their situation results in either running away or being kicked out. According to the TrueColorsFund website, homelessness is experienced by over 1.5 million youth a year, and up to 40% are LGBT. Considering the LGBT community is far smaller than 40% of the entire youth population, a problem is obviously occurring. To extend, the leading cause of homelessness is family disputes over the child’s sexuality (Durso and Gates 4). When a child tells their parents, a negative reaction is expected. In many cases, though, the parents overreact and kick them out because they think abandonment will change their mind and the child will come crawling back. Not accepting their child surrenders them to possibly years on the streets, exposing them to drugs, rape, and prostitution. When their parent’s rejection combines with the common mental health issues of LGBT teens, suicide rates skyrocket. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Nearly one-third (29%) of LGB youth had attempted suicide at least once in the prior year compared to 6% of

The article "Gay Teens Are at Risk," was written by Paula Schleis and Kim Hone-McMahan and was published in 2004 in Teens at Risk. This article describes how society is forcing the adolescents in the LGBT community into depression and causing them to attempt suicide. According to the article, gay teens risk loosing friends and loved ones if they 'come out of the closet' and thus either try to fruitlessly hide their sexuality or attempt suicide. Additionally, the article states that one-third of teen suicides are committed by homosexuals because of homophobia. With this article's use of pathos and heart-string-pulling language gain empathy and attention from their readers. Though neither authors have a personal background or connection to the

Studies have shown that the discrimination of LGBT individuals can affect mental health. Not only are there various laws that deny same sex marriage but according to there are government benefits that favor the traditional family over a non-traditional. Due to discrimination lesbians and bisexuals are more likely to be at risk for mental disorders compared to heterosexuals (Cochran and Mays 2003). Mental health issues are not only seen in the adult LGBT community but in the youth LGBT. Studies suggest that mental health disparities can exist during adolescence (Mustanski et al. 2010).

In the United States, there is social unrest regarding the government's denial of the right to marry for homosexuals. Plenty of conservatives are completely against gay marriage; and many of liberals are fighting for equal treatment. The neo-Christian politicians are using religious arguments to establish that homosexuality is an abomination. While this may be their belief system, this country was founded on religious freedom, where the people are allowed to worship how they see fit. A ground rule, set up from the beginning, states that separation needs to be made between religion and government, so the two shall never meld to become a theocracy. With the issue of gay marriage, lines get blurred and religion

Although legalizing gay marriage throughout the United States have helped, it doesn’t stop all the problems people who are gay are facing. Some kids at school still think that it’s wrong and those kids are victims

Gabriel Rotello in his article “Calling All Parents,” underscores this need for parental love by stating that almost all lesbian and gay teens go through a terrible, lonely stage when they feel they have no one to turn to, not even their own family members - sometimes especially not their own family members. It’s a phase that can leave lasting psychological damage even to the vast majority who survive it (112). Gay children are at extremely high risk for anxiety, confusion, despair, and, yes, some even contemplate suicide. In fact, according to a recent study published in the May 1999 issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, gay and lesbian youth “were 3.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide than straight youth.” (487)

As the society changing, the history of marriage also changes. Marriage is legally recognized union of two people as partners in a personal relationship, but do those two partners always have to be a man and a woman? Most people believe that homosexuals should be granted equal rights as heterosexual couples. Being as an important social issue, same-sex marriage has become a hot topic of public debates in the recent years. For over the past decade, public support for the same-sex marriage has quickly risen. The United States is one of over twenty countries that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. I believe that same-sex marriage should be legalized in all countries for several reasons, such as being an issue of equal rights, separation of church and state, no negative effect on the heterosexual communities, increasing in child adoption, and decreasing divorce and suicide rates.

Everyone has the right to be with the person they love. Nobody, not even the government, should be able to take that kind of happiness and freedom away from someone. If a girl loves another girl or a guy loves another guy, it should not matter to anyone else as long as they are happy together. “We are all equals in the world whether we are Black, White, Hispanic, Indian, or any other race for that matter. Why should we not be equals based on sexuality orientation” (Gay Marriage Pros and Cons)? Everyone deserves to have the same equal rights.