The Pros And Cons Of Gay Marriage

“I think people feel threatened by homosexuality. The problem isn't about gay people, the problem is about the attitude towards gay people. People think that all gays are Hannibal Lectors. But gay people are sons and daughters, politicians and doctors, American heroes and daughters of American heroes” (Stacy).

If you cannot beat them join them, this commonly used phrase is overlook and ignored by many. The power and value of this simple phrase holds in todays society is quite astonishing. Individuals ban together for a cause, influencing society and then enacting legislature to allow authoritive figures to enforce the common cause. Louisiana is a perfect example of this. The state lost government funding when they did not raise the drinking age. By pressuring, or as some say punishing, the federal government was able to use their authority to force Louisiana to coincide with the rest of the nation. More recently states are slowly but surely legalizing Gay Marriage. This is also an example of how slowly individual states are acknowledging the

“Marco Rubio is running for President, pledging a constitutional amendments to define marriage between a man and a women, that scares me,” Pruter said. “Constitutional amendments are incredible hard to overturn so if that get passed that’s another fifty –sixty years that the LGBT community has been taken back.”

America today is gripped in the controversial debate regarding gay rights; specifically, the right for two people who are of the same sex such as a man and man or woman and woman to be joined in the legal bond of marriage. The points of contention are largely separated into 4 main categories. The sanctity of the institution known as 'Marriage', the benefits gained from being married, family structure, and the growing impact of our society on a religious institution.

When the 2016 presidential race began in back in February of 2015. Nobody would've guessed

Most people believe that they deserve the rights they are granted by the government. An upstanding citizen who pays their taxes, serves their community and abides by the law should be afforded the rights of an American. However, not all citizens are afforded equal rights. Gay and lesbians are consistently denied rights that are typically taken for granted by the average American. Specifically, gay and lesbians couples are denied the right to marry even if they are upstanding citizens. They are held at an unfair disadvantage solely because of their sexual orientation. This discrimination must stop because gay and lesbian couples are law-abiding citizens too, who should be afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples.

Historically defined as the union between a man and women the idea of marriage has been socially ingrained into the minds of Americans leaving any other possibilities of who love can happen between as unacceptable. These strong societal beliefs are far from the truth yet dictate the ability of homosexuals rights to marry one another. Avoiding defining what marriage entails in the constitution, the issue of whether or not gay people have the right to marry has become a state issue. The conservative idea of marriage is changing as society is undergoing a transformation in its beliefs to a more liberal stance. As a country that has progressed towards being more egalitarian and inclusive in ensuring individuals rights, the right of marriage

“My thoughts on gay marriage are that everyone has the right to love and be loved, and that's the position I take” (Nick Jonas). Over the years, some courts of the United States have ruled for the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. “The movement to obtain civil marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples in the United States began in the 1970s.” (LGBT) During the 21st century, while several countries elsewhere in the world were opening marriage for same-sex couples, public support in the U.S. for same-sex marriage has grown but not yet fully developed. Our civil rights and the Constitution give us many liberties. One of our civil liberties is the pursuit of happiness should be to marry who we want. Although, all that was

In this essay, the pros and cons of gay marriage will be distilled. There are many pros and cons to this topic. Many gays and lesbians have fought for the right of marriage, while homophobes have fought against it. Marriage is a privilege that everyone deserves, even gays and lesbians.

However, with the ‘against’ position, marriage has been justified as a religious and legal commitment between man and woman, through the expression of love as therefore gay marriage should not be legalised. In relation to gay marriage, within Edwards’s article, the National Marriage Coalition put forward a strong point, “that marriage is beautiful and sacred; it is the ultimate expression of a loving commitment between a man and a

Thomas Jefferson wrote about “unalienable rights” in The Declaration of Independence. What he meant was there are rights that are given to us as human beings and cannot be taken away by the government. “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” are among those rights that are being suppressed against same sex couples. Their right to pursue happiness with their significant other is taken from them by the state. Psychologically and medically married couples are healthier in general because they have someone to share their good days and bad days with as well as someone to take care of when they are sick. However some marriages are not so healthy where one of the partners is abusive whether emotionally or physically and it usually occurs in heterosexual relationships. Orphaned children and children in the foster system also benefit from the union of gay couples because since they can’t have their own children they often look to adoption when starting their own families. Because homosexuals are denied the right of marriage to their loved ones they take marriage more seriously than most heterosexuals who take their right for granted. While the Constitution never specifically stated a need for “separation of the church and the state” the idea is implied because America is a diverse nation and “freedom of religion” definitely is in the constitution. “Freedom of religion”

People want to get married, not only for the legal benefits offered by marriage, but also because they want to be viewed as couple in a serious, long-term relationship. Because in most states same-sex couples are not allowed to marry, it reinforces the view that same-sex relationships cannot be as sincere as straight relationships. It denies same-sex couples of the ability to be seen by society as being in a serious relationship. Wedgwood argues, “It is the public recognition of the status of “married” that constitutes the most important benefit of marriage, and what is most crucially abridged when the State discriminates against gay couples who want to marry.” (7)

History teaches us that marriage has classically been between a man and a woman, but in the recent years, people have begun to challenge that notion. Gay marriage has been one of the most controversial topics of debate lately, dividing our nation into those who support the idea and those who oppose. It seems as though no matter who is asked, each person’s opinion falls to one side or the other. States have been similarly divided in their treatment of the gay marriage issue. Voters in some states have chosen to allow gay marriage, while other states have passed constitutional amendments to forbid it. Courts in some states have identified a Constitutional right to marry, and other states remain in a state of flux.

The debate over whether same-sex marriage should be legalized has raged on furiously over the past several years in both the United States and Britain. Opponents of same-sex marriage fear what consequences the redefining of marriage may bring while gay rights lobbyists deny that the meaning of marriage is being threatened. What is really at the heart of this debate, however, is personal liberty. Marriage needs to be redefined to include all genders and the inherent rights that marriage entails. Marriage, thus, is the state of being united with another person, regardless of gender, in a consensual and contractual relationship that is recognized by law.

One of the most controversial issues around today is gay marriages. Many believe that the media is primly responsible for the idea of same-sex marriages, but when it all comes down to it there are really only two sides; those who support gay marriages, and those who oppose them. Two authors write their opinions on their opposite views on this issue. Sullivan (2002) supports same-sex marriages and believes marriage to be a universal right, not just restricted to heterosexuals. Contrary to Sullivan, Bennett (2002) believes that marriage is a sacred traditional family value that should be set aside for heterosexual couples. (2002)Throughout this essay, I will summarize both authors’ ideas and evaluate them through their evidence and