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In this essay, I will discuss the different points of views of gay marriage arguing that gay marriage should be glazed throughout the country. Internationally speaking 16 countries have given same-sex couples the freedom to marry. On the other hand two countries have legalized the freedom to marry regionally, such as Mexico. Other countries have administered some sort of protection, whether it is broad or limited. Within the United States however, 17 out of the 50 states have made same sex marriage legal, but most of the other 33 states have the anti-gay constitutional amendment in place.
Anti-gay constitutional amendment is also known as the discriminatory Amendment 1, which adds an amendment to a state’s constitution banning all marriage, civil union, or domestic partnership for same-sex couples (Toll). When it comes to the main factors that gave the same-sex marriage issue a chance to become an issue for national debate. Many scholars in the sass identified some of these factors. For instance, Historian George Chauncey was one of those scholars who summarized these factors.
The most important three factors, as far as Chauncey is concerned, are: the circumstances of gay life, the changing character of marriage, and the changing place of gay people in American society. Chauncey adds that the decision of legalizing same-sex marriage and taking the process to the next step was because of a few legal strategists and a few state courts (Riemann 101). The history of legalizing same-sex marriage and even getting society to accept homosexuality was a painful history.
People in the past were not convinced in the idea of homosexuality, let alone same-sex marriages. In some communities, like the American community, the idea of homosexuality was completely refused. They believed that homosexuality was connected to the devil and was therefore treated as an offensive crime. Republican Representative for Indiana Dan Burton said that “Marriage between a man and a woman has been the foundation of human civilization for thousands of years all around the world. And he is right, while marriage between a man and a woman have been around for many years, love between same-sex couples has also been around for many years. Just because they have not been able to marry does not mean that their love has not been around for centuries. Sexologist Vern Plough says that “the unfortunate result has often been to create now sexual mythologies based upon the old erroneous assumptions” (Plough 4). People create these myths around assumptions that they hear in order to hide their insecurities or the unknown with disgust and anger.
For example, the British Author Oscar Wiled was imprisoned for homosexuality in 1895 after being caught with his same-sex lover Reginald Turner (McKenna). Turner was not the only male lover that Wiled had; he had at least three others whom he pursued. This shows that homosexuality has been discriminated against since before it even became an issue. Even though we no longer lock people up or have them executed for being homosexuals there is still some discrimination towards them.
At first, some of the organizations that were established in the sass, such as the Gay Rights National Lobby, the Lesbian Rights Project and the National Gay Task Force, ignored the issue of same-sex marriage completely, Chauncey states that it was “either because they were critical of marriage, saw it as a hopeless cause, or most commonly, simply had other priorities… ” (Riemann 100-101). Whatever the case, in the sass, marriage was not the number one priority in these groups; the goal in mind during then was simply being accepted into society and had no aspirations for more.
These groups must have had the mindset that if being accepted into society was proving to be so difficult, than fighting for the right to marry must be impossible. But, after all, marriage is the next logical step towards political and social change. Both heterosexual and homosexual couples marry for the same reasons: love, to have children, to pass inheritances, to make important decisions for the other person, to give each other financial support as well as moral support, to be able to own things together, etc. And yet society thinks it wrong to marry. But why when both types of peoples are looking for the same thing.
The battle against same-sex marriage has a lot of arguments in place. For instance, that they are going to hell and that their souls are damned. Most of the people who say this are very religious people who are very zealous about god. My question is why do they care? Don’t they have their own soul to worry about? After all, there are people who feel so strongly about this topic that they are resorting to violence and bullying in order to show their dislike for homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Should they not be worried about their own soul being damned?
Religion is reeve saying that god loves everyone equally, but by involving god into the homophobic reasoning of homophobic act being a sin and homosexuals going to hell for said acts, they are then contradicting what they are preaching. There is a bible verse that reads “There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that Suggest another” Games 4:12). Even the bible says that people should not judge other people, be it their actions or their lives, so if they are so for what the bible says why can’t they follow this particular verse?
Another argument that is brought to attention is that same-sex couples would be unfit parents. The question emerges, why fight so hard to get married and have custody of children if they weren’t to take care of them? “The Supreme Court has recognized that parents have a fundamental interest in the care, custody, and management of their children” (Stresses 76). Homosexual parents still support heterosexual preferences in their children because they know how hard it is for society to accept homosexuals; they have already experienced “coming out” and would not like their children to go through what they had to.
If their children did turn out to be homosexuals though, the parents would be supportive and would help hem get through life without having to come home to the discriminatory thoughts that heterosexual parents would have. Whether or not they are fit parents does not matter on their choice of partner. But there have been more cases about unfit opposite-sex parents than there have been about same-sex parents. After all, isn’t it biased parents who fill the minds of their children with stereotypical ideas of homosexuals that in turn creates bullies that as we know, America has a problem with.
It is said that same-sex couples will be unable to communicate values to their hillier and that they will believe the “wrong values” but, most of the things that children do can be traced back to their parents; parents are children’s most influential people (Stresses 61). The argument “same sex couples can’t reproduce” has no merit. Planet Earth is over populated; Earth currently contains more than 7 billion people, so why is there a need to reproduce, to bring more people into this already crowded world. Marriage and love should not be about children.
Yes, children play a big role in forming a family, but it is not essential for a couple to be happy. There are heterosexual peoples that are unable to have kids, these couples look for other methods to have children, methods such as artificial insemination and adoption. Homosexual couples also use these methods to have children (Marino 294). The definition of marriage is “the formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife. ” But the definition of Civil Union is “a legally recognized union of a same-sex couple with rights similar to those of marriage. If they are to have “rights similar to those of marriage” then why not Just have them marry? Marriage and love are valued for its capacity to enhance those who are drawn to each other. Homosexuals will not die out Just because they are incapable of having children, they are not of a different species, while they have different sexual preferences they are still Homo sapiens (Marino 294-295). There is currently a law in America that states that “any foreigner who marries an American citizen gives that foreigner a right to residency in the United States” (Riemann 119).
Because of this law it is becoming harder for same-sex marriage organizations to fight for their cause, this is due to the foreigners taking advantage of this law and paying citizens to marry them for the time required to be married and then filing for divorce. Sometimes these couples are same-sex couples, after all, same-sex couples aren’t required to have kids as proof of their consummated marriage. Illegal immigrants will do anything in order to stay in the land they worked so hard to get into, with this law in place that dream many have to stay and have a life that is much better than the one they are running from a bit easier to realize.
Since the early years, the United States guaranteed Legal Rights for its citizens. The Declaration of Independence states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness. ” While I’m sure that the founding fathers never thought that same-sex marriage could ever happen, do these unalienable rights not apply to Homosexuals? After all, are they not men (and women)? If all men are created equal, why not have the same rights?
In the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution it states that “No state shall sake or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or prosperity, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its Jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. ” This amendment clearly states that the state cannot make a law that denies the people of the state life, liberty, and prosperity. If homosexuals were to reside in said state, then the state would be violating the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.
Different religions have different opinions about homosexuality, but most religions o not consider the orientation of homosexuality sinful, but do consider homosexual acts sinful. By homosexual acts they mean acts intended to arouse or stimulate a sexual response regarding a person of the same sex. In the book of Leviticus it is stated, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.. Man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them” (Level. 18:22, 20:13).
People say that homosexual acts are a sin, and really, religious arguments are some of the biggest arguments made against gay marriage. Overzealous people think hat homosexuals are possessed by evil spirits. In the New Testament, Jesus made no specific ruling against homosexuality, but in the letters of James, Peter, John, and Jude, homosexuality is mentioned and condemned, yet even though it is condemned there have been important religious Christian figures that have been gay, figures such as Pope Simon Leave. If a pope can be gay, why can’t others?
In Jewish scriptures David and Jonathan show a powerful bond, one that is shown in Davit’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan where he states minor love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than the love of a woman” (2 Samuel 1:17-27). It is not Lear if David and Jonathan had a homosexual relationship, but it is apparent by this verse that they were extremely close; close enough, in fact, that it would be considered strange. Males being as close as David and Jonathan were at around that time were surely frowned upon and not encouraged.
Anti-gay groups have often said that “homosexuality is a choice” but is it really a choice? The reality is that it can’t really be proved, the argument of whether homosexuality is a life choice or if people are Just born with that mindset. It has yet to be proven scientifically if that is true or not. There have been cases that kids show nonsexual tendencies and the parents don’t know why. Homosexual, have been dealing with their homosexuality since they were young, if homosexuality was a choice I am sure that they would not choose a life of bullying, harassment, and sometimes outright violence.
Homosexual couples are fighting for a chance to be together even though society does not agree with what they are doing. They are fighting to have a chance at starting and forming a family. Tim Helmsman is one of the most anti-gay representatives in the House of Representatives. He is the representative of Kansas and is also the author of his taste’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions. Helmsman is not the only one that seems to have it out for homosexuals in the House of Representatives; there is also Republican Representative of Missouri W.
Todd Akin who said that “anybody who knows something about the history of the human race knows that there is no civilization which has condoned homosexual marriage widely and openly that has long survived. ” To Mr.. Akin I say this, of course there have been no civilizations that have condoned Homosexual Marriage, and there hasn’t even been a civilization that has condoned homosexuals at all, so how do we now that it will not survive. For all we know civilization could flourish in unimaginable ways, after all, the homosexual stereotype is that of a man who is a friend to womankind and has very good fashion sense.
Now, if we follow that stereotype then imagine what homosexuals can do for the economy. And even if we don’t follow the stereotype, which we shouldn’t, if we eliminate discrimination against homosexuals in the workplace then we would get more efficient work from them. Many homosexuals of the past were scared of how they would be treated if their love lives were out in the open because they would often be imprisoned or executed for heir actions, but now in this day and age we can let homosexuals be out in the open without that kind of fear. Why is it so wrong for them to be together? Will it end humanity as we know it?
Not all humans are homosexuals, so, therefore, the human race will continue to live on and will not go extinct. In the Bible there is a passage that reads “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, Mimi shall not commit adultery,” muff shall not murder,” muff shall not steal,” muff shall not vet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself. ” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10) love hurts no one, and yet the people who are going against homosexuals are against love. Same-sex unions should have all the rights and privileges as heterosexual unions, there is no valid reason for them not to. They all pay taxes, they go to church; they eat, sleep and do all the same things heterosexual couples do. The only difference between homosexual couples and heterosexual couples is that they have a different sexual orientation. They should not be discriminated against Just because they have a different mindset than what is perceived as normal in today’s society.