Same-Sex Marriage and Equal Rights

Andrea Blome

English 101

Monday 1:00 p.m.

 Many people think it is wrong to be gay. They especially think it

is not right for two homosexual people to get married. However, we

live in a country that is supposed to have equal rights for everyone,

and not allowing gay people to get married just because of their

gender does not sound like equal rights. Many states are trying to put

new amendments in their constitution banning gay marriage. Also, the

church is against gay marriage because gay marriage goes against

the bible. Nevertheless, there is no reason at all as to why it would be

unacceptable for two people in love, whether they are bi-sexual,

straight, gay or lesbian, to get married. There is no reason that two

people in love should not be able to get married just because they are

the same sex.

A civil union is a legally voluntary union of two adult parties of the

same sex. Civil unions are still beneficial to have since gays can't get

married in most parts of the world, but its still not completely fair to

same sex couples. They are not getting the same rights as a

traditional marriage. A civil union is pretty much a second-rate

marriage. Marriage on the other hand is defined as: The social

institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to

live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies,

etc. People are trying to add to the definition of marriage to include

same-sex couples. Definitions have changed a lot over the years,

"property" used to include humans when they were slaves, but that is

certainly not the case anymore.

Some have come to believe that same sex couples will ruin

society; they are just two people in love wanting to make it official.
Homosexual couples are citizens just like heterosexuals and should

be treated like it, they have the same rights to a family. Gays are

people just like everyone else, just because they are different doesn't

mean they don't get equal rights. That is like not letting colored

colored people get married because of the color of their skin, it is not

fair and it is unconstitutional. Because marriage is a personal choice

and a basic human right the state should should not interfere with

same-gender couples who choose to marry and share fully and

equally in the rights, responsibilities, and commitment of a civil union.

Many people do not like the idea of same sex couples getting

married at all; they think it will ruin the meaning of marriage. They

think marriage between a man and woman won't mean anything

because if everyone can get married it wouldn't be special anymore.

Letting same-genger couples get married isn't going to change how

important marriage is to people. If anything it will mean more,

especially to gay couples who can not get married right now.

Everyone will be equal and have the same rights, which is what this
country is supposed to have in the first place.

Some people argue that same sex marriage is wrong because

gay couples cannot produce children. There is a ton of people in this

world who get married and don't have kids, does this mean that they

shouldn't be aloud to get married too? People do not get married just

to produce children that is not what marriage is all about. The four

different components to a marriage are the civil contract, the personal

bond, the community recognized relationship, and the religious rite.

These are the four components that make up a marriage not just to

produce kids. People get married because they love one another and

want to be together for the rest of their lives, nothing else.

The church and most religions in general are the reason why

many people oppose gay marriage; it goes against most of their

beliefs. They think the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be

severely curtailed by same sex marriage. While it is true, same sex

marriage does go against some religions, not everyone follows a

certain religion. We need to separate the church from the state so the
decision on gay marriage is fair. Just because the Bible and church

leaders say it is wrong to be gay and for gays to be married does not

make it true. It could just simply be that people aren't ready to accept

gay people and are homophobic so they use religion as an excuse to

discriminate.

There are a number of different reasons people come up with to

why they think gay marriage is wrong. Some examples are they think

gay marriage will lead to polygamy, fractured families, kids will be

living on the streets, it will destroy society, and it will be equivalent to

heterosexual marriages. Homosexuality is not a trend; people who are

gay are born that way, They cant help how they feel. It is also not a

disease that can spread through the world; people need to accept

others for who they are. People against gay marriage are consistent in

warning against fractured families. They say almost every child will

have several "moms" and "dads", many "grandparents" and many half

siblings. Huge numbers will be raised in foster-care homes or living on

the streets. I have personal expeirences with a homosexual person in

my family and we are happy as ever. No one is emotionally or

mentally unstable or "fractured". The opposition also believes that if

homosexual marriage is legal every public school in the nation will be

required to teach that gay marriage is equivalent to traditional

marriage. But gay marriage is equivalent to a traditional one, it is two

people getting married that are in love. Schools don't usually teach

marriage in schools anyways so it shouldn't matter. They also think

that legalizing gay marriage will lead to polygamy being legalized and

other alternatives to one-man, one-woman unions. Legalizing gay

marriage could eventually lead to other problems but the world is

changing and we have to try to be fair to everyone.

The opposing side states that gay marriage should not be legal

because gay couples cannot produce children and also that same sex

marriage/homosexuality goes against the Bible and many other religions'

beliefs. However the only reason anyone should get married is because

they love someone, not just to produce children or appease a certain

religion. It is not right for the church to tell people it is wrong to be gay.

Whether someone is for or against gay marriage is completely his or her

own personal choice. No one should try to impose his or her own personal

beliefs about gay people/ same sex marriage to make someone think it is

wrong or right. Gay people are still people and should have the same rights

as everyone else. There is absolutely nothing wrong with two people in love

to get married. Yes, its true allowing gays to get married will lead to other

problems, but the world is constantly changing and we can not do anything

about it so we are going to have to accept these changes sooner or later. it

is rediculous to think that gay marriage can ruin society, its not going to

spread, if someone is gay its not going to change. Society need to have an

open mind and accept people for who they really are.

Bidstrup, Scott. "Gay Marriage: The Arguments and the Motives." Gay

Marriage: The Arguments and the Motives. 1996-1998. 23 Aug. 2008

<http://www.bidstrup.com/marriage.htm>. This site describes all the

arguments against same-sex marriage. It is a good site because not only

does it say why gays should not be allowed to get married it also states the

real reason people dont want them to get married. People say its because

of religion,etc. but the real reason is because they just find it disgusting and

unatural. Scoot Bidstrup writes a lot of essays about issues in america and

seems to know what hes talking about but it could be a little biased to one

side or the other.

Cline, Austin. "Same-Sex Marriage, Religion, and Ideology (Book Notes:

Divided by God)." Same-Sex Marriage, Religion, and Ideology (Book

Notes: Divided by God). 22 Jan. 2006. About.com. 8 Sept. 2008

<http://atheism.about.com/b/2006/01/22/same-sex-marriage-religion-and-

ideology-book-notes-divided-by-god.htm>.

Iapps. "What the Evidence Shows—-and Means." What the Evidence

Shows—-and Means. Sept. 2008. Princeton University. 8 Sept. 2008

<http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2827/information_show.htm?

doc_id=290849>.
McIntyre, John, and Tom Bevan. "Obama's "New Politics" on Gay

Marriage." Obama's "New Politics" on Gay Marriage. 23 May 2008.

RealClearPolitics. 8 Sept. 2008

<http://www.realclearpolitics.com/about.html>.

Moore, Leah. "Points in Defence of Gay Marriage." Points In Defense of

Gay Marriage. 4 Apr. 01. 23 Aug. 2008

<http://www.angelfire.com/home/leah/>. This site gives good points as to

why gay marriage should be legal. It covors all of the topics that raise

controversy about same sex marriage. Leah Moore is a student at Mary

Washington College in Virginia and gives credit to Melissa Kittrell for

background. This shows she actually did research about the issue.

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. "Religious tolerance." The

Bible and same sex marriage. 16 Jan. 200. Ontario consultants on religious

tolerance. 23 Aug. 2008

<http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_marj.htm>. This source talks about

gay marriage and homosexuality in the bible. Religion plays a huge role in
same sex marriage. Most religions think it is wrong for gays and lesbians to

get married because it is against the bible. This site shows that nowhere in

the bible does it mention same-sex marriage. This is a very good site

because it is not biased and it shows both sides to every issue about gay

marriage.