The Importance of Marriage free essay sample

When you love someone you just want people to accept your love, you don’t want someone questioning it. So if love is so important and simple, why does it matter who is in love? I believe that gay marriage should be legal and encouraged by heterosexual people. There are many people who are against gay marriage because they believe that it affects them personally. I would like to know why and how that is true. Unfortunately, there are many people who believe that in this country and therefore in most of the United States, gay marriage is illegal. There are many different reasons why I believe gay marriage should be legalized.First of all, how is gay marriage different than â€Å"traditional† marriage? It’s very much the same thing. The â€Å"traditional† marriage is no different than gay marriage than the fact that there are 2 people of the same sex. However, there is also the fact described by an Anonymous Writer who says that the only difference between them is the fact that the â€Å"traditional† couple has more rights than a gay couple (Anonymous, Redefining Family). Doesn’t that seem like something over which gays have no control? Though this fact is out there many people still believe that gays are the ones to blame.They believe it is unconstitutional for two people of the same sex to get married. However, there is nothing yet in the Constitution about marriage, or gay marriage for that matter. Nevertheless, there is the fact that all people deserve equal rights in the Constitution, and if homosexuals can’t marry then that is taking away one of their rights and that is, indeed, unconstitutional. Once again, marriage is marriage no matter who it is between, because it’s truly a record of permanent commitment and trust. Many people are under the impression that if gay marriage is legalized, then it will ruin the â€Å"traditional† marriage.I disagree 100% with that statement. How is it possible that someone’s marriage life, can affect a different couples marriage when they don’t even know each other? Though I am pointing out mostly what people think is wrong with gay marriage, there are still many U. S. citizens who do, indeed support it. Some statistics show that over 74% of 4,000 gay marriages held in San Francisco, during the one-month period which gay marriage was legal there, were between two people over the age of 35 and 69% held college degrees (Anonymous, Marriage Rates for Opposite Sex and Gay Marriages).Therefore, the homosexuals who got married in that period time were more educated and more serious than those heterosexuals who got married without ever going to college or thinking it through all the way. Consequently, those who got married after going to college and waiting a while are, most likely going to stay together longer than those who didn’t. Another issue is the fact that gays can’t bear children. However, they can adopt. Adopting is probably actually a better thing to do than having a child, because there are so many children without families. As well, because they can’t bear children at all, they can’t have an accidental child and have to give it away. There are arguments saying that if a child is brought up in a gay environment they are more likely going to become gay, however, there is no physical evidence supporting that. Besides, the fact that gays can’t bear children doesn’t mean that they have to adopt, they may simply not want a child. Overall, the decision to adopt or stay childless is their decision and does not affect the rest of the families in the United States. Ultimately, homosexual’s lives should not be a public issue though some people believe otherwise.Many arguments are debated on the issue of gay marriage, such as that it is unconstitutional or that it will demolish â€Å"traditional† marriage. There are many gays who are married and there is still the â€Å"traditional† marriage. Therefore, you can already see that people are overreacting on this issue. Over 82% of the United States oppose gay marriage. Why can’t America just be a little more understanding and cooperative? This is very much like the time when there were laws that prohibited colored people to marry white people. Do we have to have an entire Civil Rights Movement again just for those to realize that all people are equal?Gay marriage has been attacked to the point where proposition 8 was passed in California a proposition which would of eliminated the right for gays to marry . It recently has been overthrown by a Chief US District Judge Vaughn R. Walker which was a very controversial . Homosexuals should be allowed to marry because the disallowance of it violates their constitutional rights. Marriage is an institution long recognized by our government under the right to pursue happiness, and denying that right to any couple, regardless of gender, is unconstitutional.This argument, though, is not disputed. In fact, none of the arguments raised in opposition to the allowance of homosexual marriages takes into account the constitutional rights afforded to all humans. The arguments are only in relation to the possible repercussions (real or imagined) of granting these rights. Our nation was built and has always been based on the fundamental principles of freedom expressed in the Declaration of Independence and through our Constitution.The opponents of homosexual marriage need to remember what freedom means to America, and understand the significance of setting a precedent that denies that freedom. The Supreme Court has long recognized that the institution of marriage is one of the rights guaranteed to all Americans by our Constitution. In the case of Loving vs. Virginia, the Supreme Court said, â€Å"The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men† (Howard Zinn, 397).In the case of Cleveland Bard of Education vs. LaFleur, the Supreme Court said, â€Å"This court has long recognized that freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of liberties protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment† (â€Å"The Supreme Court Hands Gays a Win†). Despite all this, heterosexuals are the only ones allowed to be married at this time. Homosexuals and heterosexual both live under the same constitution and therefore should both be afforded the same rights. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The reasons that are presented against the allowance of homosexual marriage are flimsy, and have nothing to do with the constitutional rights that should be afforded to all Americans. Some of these arguments are that marriage is for procreation, same-sex couples aren’t the optimum environment in which to raise children, gay relationships are immoral, marriages are for ensuring the continuation of the species, and that same-sex marriages would start America down a slippery slope towards legalized incest, bestial marriage, and other kinds of horrible consequences (Steve Chapman).These reasons against gay marriage only deal with the consequences of what may happen if this is allowed. It is all speculation and has nothing to do with what is already a constitutional right. These same arguments were also offered thirty years ago towards interracial marriages. Journalist Deb Price offers this, â€Å".. all (arguments) seem to echo the debates heard in the late 1960’s when the morality of racially mixed marriages was being debated. One only needs to hange a few words in the present day arguments against gays and lesbian marriage in order to produce replicas of those earlier racist statements. † The main argument against same-sex marriages is the religious argument that God doesn’t condone homosexuality. In Leviticus 20:13 of the Bible, it reads that, â€Å"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood upon them. Since marriage is considered by the Church to be a covenant with God, the view in the church is that homosexual marriages cannot be allowed (Robert B. Marks Ridinger). The First Amendment states, â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Eric Black). This is saying that religious grounds cannot determine constitutional law. However, this amendment is also saying that once homosexual marriages are allowed by the state, the Church can continue denying them.There are many churches though that allow homosexuals to be married and this is where these people would have to go. Arguments that deal with how homosexual marriages will affect children is a very touch subject. The argument is that children of same-sex marriages will suffer psychological problems, as evidenced by the children now who are suffering psychological effects because of family breakups and single-sex parenting (â€Å"Kids With Gay Parents†). In any case gay marriage is something that is a right that should be give fairly soon.