People are just now starting to notice it because there are ore and more gays that want to have the same rights as straight couples. Also, it has been all over the news within the past year. On May 1 7, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to make it legal for same-sex couples to marry.
(CNN) Four years before that the State Of Vermont gave the right of civil unions to gay couples. It followed a highly controversial decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. (Robinson, B. A. ) Hams and Shepherd became the first two people to fill out their paperwork. There was a couple that walked into the clerk’s office arraying a sign that said “ 49 years together”. The couple also had pictures of their children and grand-children. When a couple show love and devotion toward one another in the way that these two have, then they deserve to have the same rights and benefits as a traditional couple.
The same-sex marriages that took place on May 1 7th mark a milestone in the gay rights movement, something that the gays have been working on for more than a decade. This is only a small step in the many strides gay people hope to take in the fight for equality. Symons, William C. ) For millions of gay Americans, May 17, is a date they will never forget. They will have their marriage recognized, but when it comes to health insurance, Social Security, and other benefits, newly married gay couples will still not be treated as well as the heterosexual couples. No matter how long they have been together, no matter how committed to one another they are, no matter how good of people they are in the community, or how good they treat their children, people still believe that they don’t deserve the right to be married. Same-sex couples want to be married for the same reasons that opposite-sex couples want to be married.
Marriage is a commitment between two people. It is a way of showing love and compassion for one another. When looking at history, it was almost 40 years ago, that many states prohibited interracial couples from legally marrying. The government turned that around and made it okay for interracial marriages, so if history repeats itself it will only be a matter of time before they decide that banning same-sex marriages is discriminatory, and the choice of a marriage partner belongs to each individual. Marriage was “ traditionally” defined as a union of two people of the same religion or the same race.
Transgressions Alex) It has also been defined as the one in which the wives were the property of their husbands. The definition of marriage has definitely changed since then, so why can’t it be further changed for the ever evolving people of the United States. Women were looked at differently then, and now gays are looked at differently then they used to be looked at. Many believe that gay people are unable to successfully raise children. Raising a child doesn’t always take a mother and a father.
Single parent households are becoming more and more popular. (Chin, Dry. ) Though this is a sad change hat is happening within our society it also shows that it is possible for a single parent to raise children. It is now becoming more common for children to be raised within a single parent home. Civil unions are an important step, but it still is not equal. Civil unions provide a set of rights and responsibilities within a certain state.
It is not marriage, and it is not recognized in any other state, or any state that doesn’t recognize civil unions. People claim today that if We allow same-sex marriages that they will start to allow everything (Ginsberg, Daniel and Fond, Dared). Traditional arises have evolved over the years, there has been significant changes made to it, and everything seems to be going fine today. People believe that with same-sex marriages will come the legalization of polygamy, and maybe even people trying to marry different things such as animals or plants. Marriage will always be sacred to everyone. Giving same-sex couples the right to marry doesn’t change how people will look at marriage.
It promotes stability for communities every. Veer (Sullivan, Andrews). It gives people and open look at life and helps them realize that all people are created equal Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund). Even if they don’t legalize same- sex marriages, it won’t Stop gay people from living together and loving each other (Pros and Cons of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage). They are still going to love each other, even if society and government wants to turn their backs on the gays, they know as well as everyone else what is going on. The government may be able to stop a same-sex couple from getting married, but they can’t stop the couple from loving each other or taking part in communion¶/ events together. Some people try to bring religion into the argument by using he words “ sacred and holy”. Applying religious meaning to federal definitions may be foolish for those looking for a constitutional amendment to block same-sex marriages.
(McFarland, Jim) Religion and government are not supposed to be mixed. So saying that marriages are “ sacred and holy” is putting a religious label on them, therefore indefinable by the federal government and absolutely off-limits to any sort of restriction or outright ban by the federal government. But yet the government believes they can control which couples are married. When looking at the subject of same-sex marriages it is about time that American’s realize that change is necessary. Same-sex couples need to be able to build their lives just like the traditional different-sex couples. Same-sex couples are able to work at the same jobs as different-sex couples, they’re able to volunteer in the community, and they are able to love and care for each other. When homosexuals are taking part in all of the opportunities I’ve stated, then why should the United States government be able to decide who they marry.
The only problems that I can see arising from allowing same-sex marriages is they fact of adoption after that. They same-sex couple will then have trouble adopting a child. But I believe that if a same-sex couple is fit to raise a child then they should be given the opportunity to adopt. As I stated earlier, having a child grow up in a household with two fathers or two mothers can’t have any worse affects than a child growing up without a father or without a mother. A child growing up in a household with two parents of the same-sex can’t be worse then the child growing up with an abusive father. As long as the same-sex couple has a good idea on the correct way to raise a hill then I believe they should have the right to adopt. In conclusion, as stated earlier, people are beginning to realize that same-sex marriages are going to have to be taken care of one way or another.
American people should be able to vote on the topic. Most people are against same-sex marriages at this point in time, but at least the people should have the final say. When slavery was abolished in the Ignited States only 12 percent of the population was African American. Today, they have come up with the gay population numbers clear up to 10 percent.
