Legalizing Gay Marriage
Gay marriage has been a large issue throughout the United States. 16 states and DC have legalized gay marriage as of January 6th this year. A part of the American population was outraged by gay marriage. They believe that marriage is a sacred thing, that should not be a right for same-sex couples. Most of these people have been generalized as conservative Republicans. The battle for the marriage rights for gays will be something states all over the country will have to decide on.
The Baker vs. Nelson case of 1970 was the first gay marriage case to go to court. They sued after being denied a marriage license. More states decided to ban gay marriage as years went on. In 1992, DC started to allow same-sex couples to file as domestic partnerships. Bill Clinton signed DOMA, an act that stated marriage was between a man and a women, in 1996. Clinton's campaign was then heavily endorsed by Christian radio stations and organizations across the United States. In 2004, Bush announced his support for laws banning same sex marriage. A few months later, Massachusetts was the first state to allow same-sex marriage. This became the real starting point in changing Americans' minds about gay marriage. There were a number of states that decided to allow gay marriage and a couple decided to create amendments that banned it. Obama was the first president to ever announce their support for gay marriage during the election of 2012. Proposition 8, a California law that banned same-sex marriages, and DOMA were struck down and determined to be unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.The past four years have been a turning point for same-sex marriage supporters and somewhat frustrating for those against it.
Supporters of gay marriage have a list of reasons why it should be allowed in every state. The first amendment, which allows religious freedom, is being violated by banning gay marriage. One of the main reasons people don’t agree with it is because their religion says it’s a sin. Not everyone in the United States follows a religion that has beliefs like that though, and basing laws on a percentage of the population’s religion is not fair or constitutional. Marriage is so much more than a simple legal right. It allows visitation in hospitals, the ability to make critical medical decisions, provides health insurance, and many other rights. It is unfair to deny those rights to same-sex couples. Denying the right to marry someone because you don’t agree with their beliefs, is discriminating against a minority in the population. This is illegal and promotes that inequality is ok.
People who do not support same-sex marriage have their reasons too. Some people’s religions do not believe that gay marriage is right. They believe that it supports an unhealthy lifestyle. Marriage to them is defined as a union between one man and one women. There are people afraid that gay marriage will cause gay couples to adopt kids and they think that a child needs both a mother and a father in their life. People who do not support same-sex marriage are not ok with their tax dollars being used to help support couples of the same-sex. Allowing same-sex marriage would mean that tax dollars are used to help pay for the benefits married couples receive.Some Americans believe that allowing gay marriage would then mean we would be opening a door to marriages that might allow marrying pets or other crazy things. Same-sex marriage is looked at as something that will weaken the institution of marriage in the United States.
Personally, I fully support gay marriage. I don’t think that marriage is defined by a man and a women, but instead two people who love each other. It’ nobody's business who a person marries. There is no reason that a nation founded on beliefs that all men and women are created equal should deny a right to a group of people. This country is supposed to protect the rights of minorities, not ban them. In the next couple years, I hope that more states start to realize that gay marriage is something that should be allowed. My generation is full of people who believe that everyone deserves equal rights, and we won’t stop fighting for everyone’s equal rights. Hopefully, by the time I am old, I will be living in a country where gay marriage is completely legal.
http://www.balancedpolitics.org/same_sex_marriages.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/murray-lipp/gay-marriage-is-great-for_b_3370173.html
http://gaymarriage.procon.org/
http://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/07/30/same-sex-marriage-over-time/mbVFMQPyxZCpM2eSQMUsZK/story.html
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