Gay Marriage

Matthew Ransdell
Melinda Zepeda
Composition 1301-111
9:30
Gay Marriage
Same-sex marriage is a widespread social issue in the United States. I believe that a person who is a homosexual does not mean that they are any less human than a heterosexual. We all live, feel emotion, and breathe the same air as any other human being regardless of our preferred sexual orientation. Because I believethese things, I support gay marriage.
Marriage is a basic civil right that everyone is entitled to enjoy at their own free will. Should a couple be prevented from marrying one another is to strip them of one of their basic rights. For instance, an African American man can marry a Caucasian female, to deny same-sex couples the same privileges, is to discriminate against homosexuals. Accordingto the U.S. Supreme Court’s declaration in 1974’s Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, the “freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause.” This is stating that the decision to get married lies with the individual rather than with the government.
If all of mankind was created equal, then we should all sharethe same rights as everyone else. If African American man can marry a Caucasian female, then to deny same-sex couples the same privileges is to discriminate against homosexuals.
Marriage is the next logical progression after a civil union because a civil union has some of the same rights as a marriage. Though this is true, it is only legal in certain states. If same-sex couples are allowed tohave a civil union, it only makes sense that they should be allowed to have the title of marriage. Forbidding homosexual couples from receiving that title is discrimination.
People have fears that same-sex marriages are not a family oriented environment, but opposite-sex marriages can also have the same negative impact on children. Just because a marriage consists of two of the same gendersdoes not mean that a child will be raised in a hostile environment. Children to opposite-sex parents are still often succumbed to problematic childhoods, due to distant or abusive parents.
Allowing same-sex couples to marry amongst one another would encourage the acceptance of diversity among many people around the United States. There are a lot of people who disagree with same-sex marriage andwould rather discriminate against homosexuals who wish to get married with their partner. To legalize same-sex marriage would increase the acceptance by many Americans. The same concept happened with the abolishment of slavery in 1865. This action may have caused a lot of controversy, but people came to accept that African Americans were now free to do as they please and work alongside those whoare not colored. Legalizing gay marriage would have the same effect, although it may be easier to accept due to the reason that people in recent times are more open-minded than they were during the 1800s.
Legalizing same-sex marriage could also potentially lead to an increase of adoption rates since most child adoption agencies will not allow you to adopt unless you are married. According tothe Adopt America Network, there are 130,000 children in the U.S. alone waiting to be adopted. If the United States were to legalize gay marriage, then that couple would be able to adopt a child meaning more children would have families instead of having to wait in an adoption home for a heterosexual couple to adopt them. More children in the United States would then have a home to go to at theend of the day rather than having to sit around doing nothing in an adoption home. Not only would the adoption rates increase, but it has also been published on June 7, 2010 by Pediatrics that children of lesbian mothers are socially and academically more competent and have fewer social problems than children of heterosexual parents. In another study published on July 19, 2010, children of...