Marriage Should Be A Privilege For All

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

benefits of marriage. However, they argue that a gay partnership should not have the designation

From slaves and immigrants to women and gays, America has struggled with the principle of equality for all people. A principle that is clearly laid out in the 14th amendment of The United States Constitution, “No state shall make or enforce any law, which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” (14th Amendment Section 2) And yet the rights of millions Americans have be infringed upon from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s to even more recent history such as Gay rights. African Americans, Immigrants, women, and homosexuals toil till this day to achieve freedom from discrimination in a country that was built on the idea of freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Same-sex couples should have access to the same marriage benefits as heterosexual couples. Prohibiting same-sex marriage is unconstitutional discrimination.

The United States Constitution protects certain liberties in the Bill of Rights and rights deemed “fundamental” that are “traditionally protected by our society.” (Michael H. v. Gerald D.). The liberty at issue in this case is the right to marry, which has been deemed fundamental by this Court in Loving v. Virginia, where we stated that “[t]he freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.” (Loving v. Virginia). The petitioners in the case at bar seek that liberty by marrying someone of the same sex and having their marriages be equal to traditional, opposite-sex couples.

We, as U.S. citizens, are guaranteed basic equal rights, but do these rights extend to all U.S. citizens? Honestly, they do not. Homosexuals have had their rights have been minimized or depleted since U.S. citizens can remember. It should not matter what ethnicity, sexuality, or religion you have; you deserve equal rights if you are a citizen of the U.S. because you pay the same taxes as everyone else in this country and are guaranteed the same rights under The Bill of Rights. Homosexuals can be charged with the same crime as a heterosexual, and they have the right to a speedy fair trial. However, homosexuals have been suffering injustices for far too long ranging from being banned from joining the military to getting married, and they are not allowed to search for their pursuit of happiness because other U.S. citizens continue to shut this right down. This is unjust because everyone is guaranteed their right to the pursuit of happiness under their basic Human Rights unless you are homosexual, and that is flat out discrimination.

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

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,

It is true that marriage in this nation traditionally has been regarded as a relationship exclusively between a man and a woman, and many of our nation’s multiple religions define marriage in precisely those terms. But with the Supreme Court has always previously considered marriage in that context, the underlying rights and liberties that marriage embodies are not in any way confined to heterosexuals. One’s sexuality is not a preference, it is immutable, unchangeable, and the Constitution protects us all against prejudices and discrimination based on immutable differences. Not only is not allowing same-sex couples to marry discriminatory, it also makes gays second class citizens. When we as a nation refuse to accord the same marital status to gays and lesbians, we discourage same-sex couples from forming the same relationships we encourage for others, and we are essentially telling gays, those of who love them, and society as a whole that their relationships are less worthy, less legitimate, less permanent and less valued. By not legalizing same-sex marriages the US demeans their relationships and demeans gays as individuals. Same-sex marriages must be legalized.

American citizens should have the freedom to choose who they want to be and who they want to love. To deny people the basic human right to love and be loved is a form of oppression that the United States should not and will not tolerate. The LGBT community has been oppressed for too long, and it’s time for a change. I fully support and commend the 2015 Supreme Court decision to legalize same sex marriage. It is a great leap of progress forward, but we have many more miles to go. I have advocated for legislation to protect LGBT rights since the very beginning of my campaign and I will not cease until each American citizen can confidently choose to be who they want to be without

This summer, the Supreme Court states that gay and lesbian Americans have the right to get married. This is certainly an important step in the new Civil Rights movement for LGBT equality, and has led to a more perfect United States. However, LGBT people are still not completely free from discrimination and abuse, there is much more society can, and should do, in order to advance LGBT equality.

“Civil marriage between individuals of the same-sex is therefore an issue in which fundamental human rights are at stake “(Love Is a...). If people are of legal age they should be able to be with whomever they would like. “The denial of equal civil recognition of same-sex relationships prevents many people from accessing other rights, such as rights to housing and social security, and stigmatizes those relationships in ways that can fuel discrimination and other human rights abuses against people

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people are discriminated against, terrorized, and protested against. They have barely any laws guarding their rights. All Americans are supposed to have all the rights needed for their pursuit of happiness, yet LGBTQ+ citizens do not. This needs to stop. And the U.S., while still quite far away, is slowly on its way to equity for all of its citizens. But good LGBT Americans are mostly treated unfairly.

Same sex marriage has been widely looked down upon for ages. People say, “It’s not the traditional constitutional marriage”, or “Children need a mother and a father”. It honestly doesn’t matter. If two people love each other, they should be allowed to marry. It’s just as simple as that. What other reason do you need? If two complete strangers of the same sex want to be together for the rest of their lives, we should let them.First, denying some people to marry is discriminatory. Judge Sarah Zabel of Miami-Dade Circuit Court ruled the gay marriage ban of Florida unconstitutional. She stated that it, “serves only to hurt, to discriminate, to deprive same-sex couples and their families of equal dignity, to label and treat them as 2nd class citizens, and to deem them unworthy of participation in one of the fundamental institutions of our society.” In other words, you’re looking down upon same sex couples that want to get married as if they’re lower than you; that they don’t deserve the same rights as us. Same sex couples would be able to enjoy the same benefits as heterosexual couples if they were able to be married.Furthermore, the General Accounting Office made an assessment in 2004 about the benefits that heterosexual married couples have that same sex couples could not. Some of these benefits include hospital visitation during an illness and the option of filing a joint tax return to reduce a tax burden. Imagine not being able to see your significant other in the hospital