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Persuasive Essay

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Evan Bennett November 4, 2010 Persuasive Essay Gay discrimination is a major problem that affects individuals all across the country. The Defense of Marriage Act needs to be repealed. First, the Defense against Marriage Act will be explained and then why it needs to be repealed, then the effects the law has on society. The federal government needs to give same sex couples the same health benefits that heterosexual couples receive. Currently, the government offers employees benefits such as health insurance and retirement savings, but they extend only to heterosexual couples. This means that same sex couples are not receiving the same amount of money as heterosexual couples. 57% of the fortune 500 companies, on the other hand, offer …show more content…

The Defense against Marriage Act is the law that forbids same sex couples from receiving federal government health insurance. Imagine how this impacts those gay or lesbian youth who are struggling with fitting in at schools and are feeling scared, ashamed and consequently depressed because of their sexuality. In the news recently, gay teens took their lives because they felt bullied by other classmates. According to cnn.com Tyler Clementi, a gay youth committed suicide by jumping off a bridge after his sexual encounter with a man was taped and put online. Donna Witsell committed suicide after she was embarrassed by a sexual incident. These are examples of the kind of discrimination and oppression gay teens feel, because they’ve been brought up in a society where gays felt like outcasts and unwanted. The Cyber Bullying Center conducted a study of 4,440 youth and found one in five youths between the ages of 10 and 18 have been a victim of cyber bullying or participated in it. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids spend an average of seven and half hours a day on the internet, which increases cyber bulling. In recent weeks, gay teens show that they are stepping out and saying how they have been bullied and contemplated suicide like Joey Kemmerling. He has faced relentless bullying since he “came out of the closet” in 8th grade” and heavily contemplated ending his life, according to cnn.com. As shown above, bulling has become

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