Same Sex Marriages

A topic that is greatly debated in America is the issue of marriage between same sex couples. While three fourths of the country is supportive of gay rights, including housing, jobs, public accommodations, and government benefits, less than half of the country is for gay marriage. (Bidstrup) The reason that people who are for gay rights change their mind on the topic of marriage is because they are uncomfortable with it. The reason why so many Americans are against it is because there is a lot of misunderstanding about what homosexuality is and what homosexual marriage is really about. If people were provided the correct facts, they would understand that homosexual marriages are acceptable for the men and women who are born that way.

Most Americans were brought up being taught by society that the "perfect" marriage was one between man and woman and that homosexual relationships are immoral (Bidstrup). Thus, they believe the correct definition of marriage is "the legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife" (Dictionary.com). As a result, they have a biased opinion towards a marriage between two men or two women. They feel that it is unnatural, when in fact it is completely natural to the people involved.

The latest scientific evidence shows that homosexuality is predetermined at birth, by one's genetic makeup (Robinson). Studies have also shown that children who grow up to be homosexuals take part in "gender inappropriate play," in early childhood (Robinson). Seventy five percent of young boys, who did this, grew up to be homosexual (Robinson). These behaviors were not taught to the children and it is likely that they acted this way because of an innate trait that is beyond their control. This proves that it is not a lifestyle choice. Why should someone be punished and not be able to live the life that they want to lead because of how they were born? It would be like saying that someone with a disability can't have all of the same rights as someone without a disability because they were born different. Homosexual men and women do not have the option to be straight if they want to, their sexual orientation wasn't a choice and under no circumstances should they be denied marriage to the person that they love for something that they cannot control.

Homosexual people are put through many difficult and unfair tasks as couples. When it comes to taxes, they are denied the basic protection under the law that heterosexual couples receive ("HRC"). They are also taxed on employer-provided benefits for domestic partners, where as heterosexual couples are usually tax-free ("HRC"). As a gay or lesbian employee, they are not given the right to take care of a seriously ill partner or parent ("HRC"). If their partner dies, they are denied the social security benefits that they should receive ("HRC"). These couples are only given second-class protections compared to their heterosexual friends and/or couples ("HRC"). They are unable to receive over 1000 benefits and protections of marriage. The right thing to do here would be to make all marriage rights equal. Making this possible would "build on America's tradition of moving civil rights forward and erase the inequalities of the past" ("HRC").

The meaning of love can be described as "a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness" ("Dictionary.com"). This definition does not depict that love cannot occur between two males or two females. Therefore, love should be able to be expressed in the form of marriage, whether or not it is between a man and a woman, two men, or two women.

Under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, "equal protection and substantive due process under the law: rights conferred to one person cannot be denied to another" ("Same-sex marriage in the United States"). This concludes that all Americans should be treated equal and given the same rights no matter their sexual preferance. Also, the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, states that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" ("Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America"). Basically, this means that the Bible, which states that homosexual marriage is immoral, has no bearing on American law. One of the principle foundations that our country is built on is separation of church and state (McCuen). Because of this homosexuals should be able to wed, along with all other rights that are given to heterosexuals.

Although their sexual preferences are different, gay people are very much similar to people that are straight, in their everyday lives and in their relationships. For all intents and purposes, a marriage between two people of the same sex is exactly they same as a marriage between a man and a woman. They do a lot of the good and helpful things that are valued in a community. Some of these things include, volunteering in community service activities, serving on school boards, and being good, law-abiding citizens (Marcus). Those involved in a homosexual relationship, do cherish having a positive family life with strong family values, like those of their heterosexual counterparts (Marcus). They remain loyal to their companions and are monogamous and completely devoted to their partners (Marcus). Considering all of this, it can possibly be assumed that their relationships are a lot more normal than some of the relationships that we hear about today between a man and a woman.

Conservatives believe that homosexuals should choose to remain celibate or attempt to change their sexual orientation to being heterosexual, something almost impossible for them to do (Robinson). Many people think that this is what homosexuals should do and therefore many homosexuals keep their true sexuality inside and get involved in heterosexual relationships that every so often can lead to a completely unhealthy and false marriage, which sometimes produces children (Robinson). This would bring about some bad situations, which would eventually cause the marriage to fail. It is not possible to have a happy marriage with someone whom you are not even attracted to. This would also have an adverse effect on the children. This would ultimately end up being a bad, hurtful, and unnecessary situation.

Gay civil unions are supposed to be seen as a "separate but equal" institution that is constitutional (Hirsch). But are they really equal? The answer is, no. Although with a civil union, homosexuals can get most of the same benefits as a marriage, they will not get