Gay Marriage in the United States

Caitlyn Johnston


POLS 1100
Jeff Ferlo
8 May 2014







Same sex marriage has been a large controversial issue for quite some time
now. It is currently illegal in most states to marry someone of the same gender. There
are presently only 17 states in the U.S which allow same sex marriage. California,
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island,
Vermont, and Washington all allow same sex marriage. We have come a long way
considering that just a decade ago there were no states that allowed gay marriage.
However, the remaining 33 states still have a ban on the marriage of homosexuals.
There are many different opinions and reasons for it to stay illegal and there are also
many different explanations for why it should be legalized. Each side of this issue has
very strong points with explanations that back themselves up very well. With the factors
of happiness, laws, and morals everyone has their own opinion on the situation.
First off, I will be discussing the side against legalizing gay marriage. There are
many different reasons why people do not support gay marriage. First off, it is to be said
that gay marriage is against the natural order of humans. Marriage is known to be the
specific union of a man and a women. That is the main reason it is against the law. It is
to be said that gay marriage will destroy the sanctity of marriage. Many people agree
with this statement and protest all that they can to keep marriage just between a man
and a women.
The main reason that gay marriage is against the law is because of the
reasoning of some people that it will destroy the sanctity of marriage. With the view of
marriage being a gathering of a man and a women that gives some reasoning behind
that law. There are also differences in the state and federal laws of gay marriage. In the
human rights campaign, it states the following to support federal laws. Because
the Defense of Marriage Act defines "marriage" as only a legal union between one man
and one woman, same-sex couples - even if legally married in their state - will not be
considered spouses for purposes of federal law. (Human Rights Campaign)
Next, the side of supporting the marriage of homosexuals has very strong points
as well. To begin, marriage is for love and love does not judge on gender. It is to be
believed that denying marriage is a violation of religious freedom and can be classified
as unconstitutional. Recently, just in Utah there has been quite a bit of hype on the
marriage of homosexuals. The ban on same sex marriages was lifted and began to
grant marriage licenses to those who wanted to marry. The U.S. Supreme court ruled
that a law forbidding the federal government from recognizing same sex marriage was
unconstitutional last year. In December, many lives were transformed in the gay
community in Utah with the unexpected ruling. More than 1,300 couples were wed
before the Supreme Court at this time.
Later on though, there was a hold on same sex marriage licenses. They were
not to be issued anymore; but, those who had been issued were still valid. After more
time passes and the issue goes through more court systems it be seen to be fully
unconstitutional with it going against the equal protection right. The constitution states
that there needs to be a separation of church and state and the only argument against
gay marriage is one that has to do with religion. Religion is something that should not
have anything to do with the law. Everyone in the world believes something different.
Religion should not decide other people happiness. Bill Meyers discusses the effect the
legal stir of gay marriage has had on some citizens.
"It is very unfortunate that so many Utah citizens have been put into this
legal limbo," said the state's attorney general, Sean Reyes. His office later
admitted it was a confusing situation, and announced that while it would
provide marriage certificates to those who properly applied during the 17-
day window between the ruling and the stay, it would not recognize them
as valid, at least for the time being.
With this just being said, it makes it even more unfair to Utah citizens to tease
them with this right. As a citizen who pays their taxes they are served the right by their
community to be granted the rights of an American. Discrimination amongst the LGBT
community must stop.
One main problem that most people probably do not think about is the fact that
LGBT couples that are not allowed to marry cannot claim their significant others social
security after they have passed on. Currently there are not programs that give gay
couples survivor benefits. It is unfair that heterosexuals can receive all these benefits
just because they are considered normal. All working citizens who pay into the social
security system for benefits should be awarded those benefits. Gay couples will also
face the problem of having an unstable retirement. Without being married it makes it
much harder to live life alongside of someone. Even heterosexual divorced coupled can
be rewarded these benefits. However, a lifelong faithful gay couple cannot be rewarded
anything. This is denying rights to gay couples which are supposedly protected by the
state.
Another issue of not allowing marriage for gay couple would be the effect it has
on their children. Children cannot choose their parents. They should not be punished for
who they are. The children suffer with the fact that their parents are unable to marry.
Non- biological children of gay couples cannot receive survivor benefits. If the deceased
partner did not legally adopt the child, they will suffer. Many same sex couple who want
to adopt are often denied just because of the fact that they are not married. Gay couple
most of the time can be better parents than some heterosexual couples. I know so
many gay couples who are happier than the straight couples in my life. So many
children in the world need to be adopted and great parents are getting pushed away
because they are not allowed to marry. The government directly discriminates against
the children of same- sex marriage by not allowing the same right that heterosexual
couples are allowed. Almost all studies discussing the impact of a same sex marriage
household on children have been beneficial. Jonathon Rauch discusses the effect
marriage may have on children.
The dozens of studies of same-sex parenting to date have found no
evidence that children raised by same-sex couples fare worse, on
average, than other children. Same-sex parents may not be a first choice,
other things being equal. But other things are rarely equal. Most children
come to same-sex couples not from loving opposite-sex homes but from
single-parent homes, broken heterosexual marriages or relationships,
foster care, foreign or domestic orphanages, or artificial insemination. If
they were not with same-sex couples, most of these children either would
be in more difficult circumstances or would never have been born at all. If
same-sex marriage helps them find secure, two-parent homes, it seems to
be a good thing.
The law against gay marriage also causes another civil liberty stir, the pursuit of
happiness for example. Homosexuals are basically not allowed to follow that because
what will truly make them happy is against the law. I find this to be sickening that people
put more effort in taking someone elses happiness away than dealing with their own
lives. Some people may believe that gay marriage gives a bad influence on children;
however, the bad influence is not the marriage of homosexuals, it is the fight and
judgment from most adults going against it. Why tell someone who they can marry?
Marriage is about love and creating a family. Why is that something that we are fighting
over?
As mentioned before, the ban on gay marriage goes against the first amendment.
The first amendment states that a persons religious beliefs must be protected. The
religious beliefs of the people against gay marriage are surely protected, but not for the
ones wanting gay marriage. Some people believe that all should be loved and treated
equally without judgment. With this law, there is no justice to that. In the bible it is rarely
even discussed. The bible mainly focuses on the idea of not judging people. We are
going against the bible by saying it is wrong to be gay. Not allowing gay marriage
stigmatizes homosexuals as lesser beings of this world. We are sending a message that
it is perfectly okay to discriminate against them.
With both sides of this issue have being researched, it is clear that I am for gay
marriage. I feel that it is wrong to take something so important away from people. There
are some very logical points that go against gay marriage, but mostly the points against
it are full of ignorance. Most people dont even know what they are talking about, even
people in the court system. They just dont like something so they will do anything they
can do to not let it happen.
With our president, he believes in gay marriage and that is probably the thing I
like most about president Obama. I feel with this, we will move forward from this a little
bit faster. One of the first things Obama did was push for repeal of the dont ask dont
tell. With him doing this dont ask dont tell ended for good on September 20
th
, 2011.
This allowed gay people to serve openly in the United States Military. Obama also
believes that gay people should have the same benefits as straight people and wants
everyone to get the benefits that they deserve. Heather Manes discusses Obamas
history on the issue of gay marriage.
The president, though always a supporter of gay rights, has admitted to
swaying on the subject of gay marriage for political reasons. However,
over the last couple years, public opinion has flip-flopped and is now
largely in support of legalizing gay marriage. Obama blatantly came out in
favor of the movement before the 2012 election, and has received a great
deal of political support from gay rights groups since.
Now, everyone does have the right to their opinion. Some may believe that
marriage is just for a man and a women. Where there are others who believe marriage
is all about love and not about the gender you are. Whatever it is you think, it cannot be
denied that equality is important. It is wrong to limit the people that are to be treated
equal. Everyone should have that quality.
Many people believe that if gay is legalized, they will be affected in a great way.
That is just untrue. People are just close minded and do not like change. This may be
an odd example, but it will signify how stupid people sound when they say that gay
marriage affects them. Imagine you are at subway, the person in front of you wants to
order a different sandwich then you, and it upsets you because it is different. Even
though this person has different tastes from you, it doesnt affect you at all. You will go
on and eat your sandwich, and they will go on and eat theirs. Think about this. When
people say they are going to be affected directly because of gay marriage they are just
being ignorant. More people will just be happy around them. If they dont like happiness
then that is their own personal problem.
I believe that we will get past all of this. It may take some time, but it will soon be
seen that it is an unconstitutional law. From the federal courts to the state courts, with
the many facts against gay marriage and the many facts against it, it can be seen that
there are many different positions on this situation.
Support for gay marriage is growing, but there is still quite a bit of resistance on
the matter. People just do not like to see change. Just from my experience with the
matter, I really dont understand why people cannot support the matter. I could research
for days and never understand the ignorance of some people. Gay people getting
married is not going to destroy the world. It will not even change anything about any
other citizens lives. More people in the world will just be happy. Years from now we will
look back and realize how much of a struggle we went through just by strictly being
judgment and taking happiness away from others. It is just like when we dealt with the
uproar of interracial couples. Now that is a common thing. Gay marriage should be a
common and normal thing. It is hard to live in a world with so many judgmental people.
As discussed before, every citizen should be entitled to their rights. Gay people
pay taxes just like straight people and there is no reason to deny them the benefits that
they pay for. I am thankful we have a president who believes in the giving everyone the
rights and benefits they are entitled to. Seeing past all the laws and what not it cannot
be denied that love is love. No matter where you stand on the situation, you cannot
control who you fall in love with. Being gay is not a choice, even though some people
think it is. It is not. If you are not gay, when did you choose to be straight?
















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