Same-sex Rights Should Be a Federal Matter

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 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.

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.

In the summer of 2015, history was made in the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court had made, with a 5-4 majority, a controversial ruling decreeing that denying equal recognition to same-sex couples was in violation of the Equal Protections Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Those on the minority cited concerns of judicial restraint, the connection between marriage and procreation, and whether or not marriage is a Constitutional issue in the first place. Nevertheless, equal recognition for same-sex couples became the law of the land.

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.

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.

It is stated in the Declaration of Independence that we are all endowed with the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, these rights are compromised when we are not all safe in our home country. The recent Supreme Court decision to legalize same sex marriage is a huge step in the

In my article named Windsor’s Knot published in The Economist, it talks about how the Supreme Court does not want to pass gay marriage. To get married is to want to make it official that you want to spend the rest of your life with a person that you love. Marriage between people shouldn’t be excluded by the color of a person’s skin, by race, or because you love someone of the same-sex. When a person gets married they receive a lot of rights. Rights in inheritance, immigration rights, custody and adoption rights, to name a few. In a gay marriage not only is the government taking away these rights, they are taking away the statement that they are attempting to show people the freedom to marry the person they love and want to spend the rest of

take a stance on homosexuality, these individuals do have certain liberties, just as all persons have liberties unless a legitimate state interest can be found to say otherwise. The Court’s broad sense of “liberty” has opened the door for the inclusion of same-sex marriage to be included in one’s personal liberties. The denials of the benefits that come with marriage have other impacts in the life of the person as they may face tougher medical, economical and familial situations. Having the right to visit an ailing partner in the hospital, buying property and filing taxes together, and decisions to raise children and have legal equal access over those children are just some of the burdens that unmarried same-sex couples face. The only time a liberty is allowed to be taken away from an individual is if there exists a legitimate state interest. There is no rational state interest in same-sex marriage. The protection of family values would

In the U.S. Constitution is states that “All men are created equal,” and marriages of same sex can finally feel this way of being equal again. That’s how it should be for everyone, equal is makes society and everything

The argument is much deeper than whether or not they should be married because they live together. If same-sex ( homosexuals ) lovers are paying taxes to build roads and help public schools like the heterosexual lovers, they should be provided the same rights. This is the exact argument the gays and lesbians of Vermont are using. In the Baker v. Vermont court case, “gay and lesbian lovers had argued that they were rejected the protection of more than 300 laws as a result of not being allowed to marry” (Meredith 1). Homosexuals are finally suing the state because they are not receiving protection under the laws of state strictly because they are gay. In fact, the Vermont House of Representatives voted in favor (76-69) of a same-sex ( homosexuals ) civil union bill. This shows that looking at the matter as a legal issue, it is evident that homosexuals are not regarded equally in the eyes of the law, and that the first steps to fix this social injustice are just now being taken; however, the controversy is still obvious as the vote is very close . The Director of Education for the Human Rights campaign state, “It’s a big step in the right direction…while its no full marriage, it’s very close.” same-sex ( homosexuals ) civil unions are clearing the path for nation-wide legal recognition of same-sex ( homosexuals ) relationships. These same-sex ( homosexuals ) civil marriages are demonstrating that the concept of “marriage” and the rights an American deserves, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation, can be simultaneously

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

In the past, the government has stated that gay individuals are not equal to heterosexuals, due to the fact that they could not get married, or receive the same benefits that other couples receive. But, everyone deserves the same rights. Everyone deserves to love whoever they desire to love. “There are 1,138 benefits, rights, and protections available to married couples in the federal law.” (Bush, Pro2) Before the twenty-first century, gay couples did not get the same benefits has heterosexual couples. Benefits like, the importance of making medical decisions. For example, if a gay couple were to get into an accident, of some sort, and would need to get surgery, the partner may not even have visitation rights. Why? Because he, or she, is not a legal spouse, or an immediate family member. Just because a person’s relationship does not fit

Most individuals are convinced that they deserve the rights they are allowed by the government.   An honest citizen who pays their taxes, works for their community and comply with the law should be afforded the rights of an American.  Nevertheless, not all citizens have equal rights.  Gay and lesbians are consistently denied rights that are typically taken for granted by the average American.  Specifically, gay and lesbians pairs are opposed the right to marry even if they’re upstanding citizens.  They are held at an unfair disadvantage due to the fact of their sexual orientation.  This bias has to stop since gay and lesbian couples are law-abiding citizens too, who should be given the very same rights as straight couples.

There is a constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It would be unconstitutional to criminalize same-sex marriage, or any marriage, regardless of gender, or sexual orientation. Criminalizing same-sex marriage is unacceptable due to it being discriminatory. It violates the civil rights of homosexual people by not allowing them to pursue their happiness. The Constitution clearly states this: