Gay Marriage Should Be Legal Essay - 1278 Words

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Yet, same-sex marriage continues to be a highly debated issue that leaves our society searching for answers. This has been very apparent during elections when politicians, in order to distract or sway conservative voters, all took a side and had an opinion on the issue of same-sex marriage. The debate has been presented on the left as a civil rights debate, equal rights. And on the right, as a morals debate, a referendum on homosexuality (Rauch, J. 2004). Everyone has an opinion on whether two men or two women should be allowed to get married, and in doing so, have all the same rights granted by the federal government to them as†¦show more content†¦Nowadays, marriage is completely elective. Now we have contraception. Today, marriage is a lifestyle choice (Rauch, J. 2004). The nuclear family is no longer the â€Å"norm†. It’s now a reality that there a re heterosexuals who are not getting married or not staying married, as well as roughly half of all marriages ending in divorce. With marriage in a decline, one could rationally argue that two people wanting to enter into matrimony, to make an oath, not only to themselves, but to the community, the state, and basically the whole world, should be encouraged. The institution of marriage benefits society, giving strength to families and communities as a whole. Furthermore, the state has a variety of interest in promoting marriage, it promotes stability for adults and children and helps individuals lead happier and more productive lives (Strasser, P. M., 1999). A hard to swallow fact is American history is plagued with discrimination. Rights have been denied to every type of citizen for a lot of reasons they had no control of in our history more than once. In the early 1900’s America had firm standing miscegenation laws, or laws not allowing marriages between persons of two different races. These stood until Loving v. Virginia, a civil case where the Supreme Court declared anti-miscegenation laws a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and thus unconstitutional. I would think it is fair to say thatShow MoreRelatedGay Marriage Should Be Legal1205 Words   |  5 PagesHoward Sociology 1301-93431 Gay Marriage Getting married is something that most people do when they find love, which it is an important event in their life. The GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) community now get the legal right of same-sex marriage, which they have fought for throughout the years; on the other hand, some opponents of same-sex marriage have called for a constitutional change towards it. Although there were some countries that allowed gay marriage before the United StatesRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1159 Words   |  5 PagesAmendment, which puts a ban on gay marriage. This amendment entitles to equal rights to the gay community, ending toleration of discrimination in jobs, rights protecting gays from hate crimes,rights allowing advancement in government. However, the concept of gay marriage is still not considered a right the American people should extend to homosexuals. II. The vast majority of opponents believe marriage should be between one woman and one man, meaning marriage should be between members of the oppositeRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1574 Words   |  7 Pagesequal rights. Gays and lesbians are consistently denied rights that are typically taken for granted by the average American. Specifically, gay and lesbian couples are denied the right to marry even if they are outstanding 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. Marriage is about love andRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1564 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is marriage? Recently, people argue with respect to the definition of marriage. What happened to marriage? To get married is a very important event for almost everyone. Especially for women, marriage and giv ing a birth could be the two biggest events of their lives. Many people believe that getting married to the one whom he or she loves is natural. However, what do you think if you cannot get married to him or her because it is socially unacceptable? 100 years ago different colored peopleRead MoreShould Gay Marriage Be Legal?778 Words   |  3 PagesShould Gay Marriage Be Legal? â€Å"†¦I now pronounce you husband and wife†¦Ã¢â‚¬  One would normally hear this when attending a wedding. In tradition marriage has been between one male and one female who love each other. But how would one feel if they heard â€Å"I now pronounce you groom and groom† or how about â€Å"†¦bride and bride...†? In the last 50 years the number of same-sex couples has increased. The on-going argument between the government and the people is â€Å"Should gay marriage be legal?† Although some sayRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1126 Words   |  5 PagesJune 26, 2015 for gay marriage to be legal in all fifty states, thirty seven out of the fifty and Washington D.C already legalized gay marriage. Many support gay marriage and many do not, with widespread values and reasons for and against it. Due to religion and rights people across the nation have differing views and opinions of it.In a five to four vote in the Supreme Court gay marriage becam e legalized in all fifty states. Shortly after that a few marriage officiators and marriage licenses peopleRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1179 Words   |  5 PagesGAY MARRIAGES Some states such as Iowa legalized gay marriage through the action of judicial interpretation based on the state’s constitutional stipulations while other states such as Vermont legalized gay marriage through legislation initiatives. These cases demonstrate the government is the sole body that can dictate the validity of whatever is to be regarded as a marriage, and in this case gay marriage. The power to validate marriage is still observed among the private citizens, religious institutionsRead MoreThe Gay Marriage Should Be Legal947 Words   |  4 PagesDefending Gay Marriage During the last few years, homosexuality has become an important issue for debate. Moreover, homosexuals have taken their case further by claiming their right to marry. Same-sex marriage, usually known as â€Å"gay marriage†, is the marriage between two people from the same biological sex (Doskow1). Since 2000, eleven countries have approved the legalization of gay marriage worldwide: Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, ArgentinaRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1480 Words   |  6 PagesNew World Dictionary defines the word married as being husband and wife, yet there are millions of gay activists who are fighting for a new meaning. They believe marriage is more than a piece of paper and a set of rings. The hope is that marriage could be defined as a â€Å"public recognition of a private commitment† or â€Å"emotional, financial, and psychological bond† between two people (Sullivan 53). Gay activists belie ve that taking away the ability to have a publicly recognized relationship or an acceptedRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal1351 Words   |  6 Pageshappened for United States, gay marriage became legal in all 50 states. In most states it already was but the remaining 13 became legal this year. There are many concerns regarding gay marriage, and the effects of them involve many legislative, cultural, religious and family issues. Gay marriage is controversial because a lot of people do not approve of it, they think it is immoral, unnatural, and not what the traditional concept of â€Å"marriage† really means. Opponents of gay marriage say it is only meant