Marriage Inequality in America Spotlighting Equal Rights for the LGBT Community

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.

On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Many conservative groups do NOT agree with this decision. The gay marriage debate has been simmering for as long as I can remember. The four articles I have selected give information from four different perspectives including that of liberals, conservatives, homosexuals, and orthodox Jews. With so many differing opinions, one can understand why it's been so hard for the nation to come to agree on this issue.

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.

In the early days of the American government, there was a long struggle between the federalist, and the anti-federalist about the ratification of a constitution for a young nation. During that time, slavery was a source of labor, and commerce for our thirteen states, but this didn’t sit well with these human properties, because they wanted their grievances to be answered. Once it was clear that African-Americans were people who deserve the same rights as others too, it sparked the voices from women who were properties of their spouses. In continuation of all these dilemmas, there was a hidden developing conflict for homosexual rights. The rights that Americans think they are entitled too, must be answered,

The year is 2015 and I can’t imagine not having the freedom I do today. Marriage equality is a very recent topic in history. It wasn’t very long ago that laws prohibited the marriage of same-sex couples. I have decided to investigate the history of marriage equality and the organizations that helped make the dream come true. In order to fully understand the changes that occurred, and to comprehend the level of discrimination that was felt in the homosexual culture, one must first understand the history of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) community. The harsh history of the LGBTQ community, and discrimination that was imposed on them and the organizations that strived to advocate for the LGBTQ community on a local, regional and national level is what eventually lead to the Supreme Court ruling on June 26th, 2015, stating that states cannot ban same-sex marriage.

Gay marriage is not the only issue that is being discussed throughout America involving the gay community. In a particular study done by USA Today, results showed that when Americans were asked if they think homosexual relationships between consenting adults should be legal, 46% answered yes (“USA Today” 6). However, when asked if they would then favor a law that would allow homosexuals to get married, only 24% were in favor (6). This survey also showed the differences of peoples’ ideas based on if they attended church or not (6). The results showed that 73% of Americans who attend church weekly oppose the legalization of gay marriage and only 38% of those who don’t attend church oppose legalization (6). These results show that for many Americans, marriage is a religious agreement, but for many others, marriage is a right that should be given to all who want to partake in it.

Opposing Viewpoint 1: The definition of marriage is between a man and a woman, and the federal government should support this

A major victory was won by the LGBT community when the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal on June 26th of 2015 across all of the United States. This ruling effectively states that any state-law restricting marriage to male-female is unconstitutional. This had been a fight since the 1970s when the issues of same-sex marriage first began to gain steam. Over the years, various states have legalised same-sex marriage to certain degrees, however it wasn’t until after 3 decades that the issue was finally acknowledged on a national level. This change furthers the ideology of freedom and equality of the american constitution and will invoke the betterment of

The debate of whether to pass the bills and policies that promote equal treatment of lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender, and the queer (LGBTQ) community has been trending across nations. People refer to fundamental human rights like the freedom of speech and association, liberty, and equal treatment in court as civil rights, because they are fundamental rights that each and every citizen should not be denied on the basis of their sex, race, or religious belief. Though it has been proven that homosexuality – the sexual desire for those of the same sex as oneself – has existed since humans have begun documenting human history, the framers of the Constitution did not include the unconstitutionality of discrimination against citizens on the basis of sexual preference, thus, making this discrimination entirely legal. It is, therefore, important to consider the varying views on this issue with an aim of constructing a genuine proposition to the policy makers.

The political aspects of whether same-sex couples should be allowed to federal and government recognized marriages are a very complex issue. There are basically two sides to the political argument of whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. On one side are the liberals who feel that marriage is a civil right that should be denied based on the basis of a person's sexual orientation. On the other side you have conservatives who feel that marriage is an institution in which should only constitute one man and one woman. In this report we are going to examine how the issue of same-sex marriages are affecting our current political environment, how politics is affecting the movement for

Gay marriage has become more and more important to more and more people in the recent past. Many people want gay people to be allowed to get married. They say that marriage is a right, not a privilege. People who oppose gay marriage say that marriage is defined as a union of one man and one woman. Many people, who otherwise are very supportive of a homosexual’s rights, say that they shouldn’t be allowed to marry simply because two people of the same sex can’t get married.

Same sex marriage should not be allowed.“Gay marriage is contrary to the word of God and is incompatible with the beliefs, sacred texts, and traditions of many religious groups.”In Addition,religion is important because it can cause economic problems and people could be offended.”People should not have their tax dollars used to support something they believe is wrong. “Another reason,people spend way too much money in what nobody believes in and people should not spend time into something that is not a religion.“Marriage is an outmoded, oppressive institution that should

On June twenty-sixth same sex marriage was made legal by the supreme court. This ruling lead to justified celebration by many Americans. However, it is important to understand and work towards getting rid of prejudice that many lgb persons still plaguing their lives. Although many Americans hold the belief that the legalization of same sex marriage results in lgb individuals no longer struggling for equality, the people of America must recognize the bigotry and discrimination that lgb individuals continue to suffer and how religious extremists and extremist organizations often promote such inequality and prevent lgb individuals from obtaining the rights and respect in today’s society that they are deserving of, and then put forth the effort to be rid of discrimination and prejudice towards individuals based on sexuality. In order to create a better society it is imperative that we allow religious freedom but do not use religious freedom to excuse harmful discrimination against minorities, specifically the lgb community. By making continued efforts to rid our society of prejudice, we gain creating a more moral and beneficial society.

"Marriage is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to the degree of being sacred. It is an association that promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects.” (U.S. Supreme Court). Marriage has been defined as a religious & legal commitment between a man and woman, as well as an expression of love. Homosexuals have not been allowed to partake in these commitments and the rising support for same sex marriage is becoming more of an issue for the government and voters. There are those that are against same sex marriage, who believe that marriage should be strictly between a man and a woman (Barber), and then there are

In the twentieth century, America has undergone vast changes in family styles. Because of the increase in many gays and lesbians speaking out, we see a new emphasis on the word family. "Many gays and lesbians have decided to come out of the closet shaking up an issue that has made a ruckus between Americans" (Carey 2). We find that the Defense of Marriage Act states that marriage should be between one man and one woman for federal purposes; but is this fair? The United States was founded on the belief of equality, loyalty, and justice for all. The phrase for all means for everyone; not everyone besides gays and lesbians.