Marriage equality is an
important issue that is affecting real people in society today. There is
progress made in the recent past with states and also, federal governments
considering striking the balance and bringing the issue of marriage equality
for public and civil debate. However, there is still a high level of biases and
inequality that has an adverse impact on the quality of life of some citizens (NeJaime). Every American's dream is
to have the chance and means to realize their dreams and also live at liberty
according to the 6th Amendment that provides for freedoms and rights of the
citizens. It is also imperative that all individuals have the chance and the
means to enjoy life, celebrate love and get into lasting and binding
relationships with all the other members of society. Therefore, there is a need
to allow gay, marriages in society because marriage equality matters and is
significant in every civilized society.
It is wrong to deny the
same-sex couples an opportunity to marry since they have the same reasons for
marriage as is the case with the heterosexuals. Homosexual couples want to
marry for legal security, provide greater protection for their children,
celebrate their commitment in public and for the reason that they are in love.
These are the fundamental reasons why the heterosexuals marry as well and
therefore, it beats logic to deny the same-sex couples the same opportunity to
get into marriage as well;. It is discriminatory to deny such couples the same
rights as the others are offered (NeJaime).
It is wrong to deny the
same-sex couples the opportunity to marry since it denies them of the
privileges that the others that marry enjoy. Such opportunities include the
legal benefits that come with marriage (Corvino and Maggie, 94). Married
partners access all the union entitlements, responsibilities, and protections
that come with marriage. The marriage certificate allows the partners to prove
easily their legal rights of challenged. The capacity and ability to quickly
and efficiently establish one’s relationship status are particularly more
important to same-sex couples because of the existing prejudice against them
which translates to the denial of their legal rights (NeJaime). Other benefits accrue to married couples. Allowing the
same-sex couples to get married would lead to inclusion to a universal and
valued institution of marriage and as a result, provide them and their families
the real social and cultural benefits that come with the wedding. It is
unlawful to deny any individual of their legal rights and therefore, they need
to be at liberty to marry as well.
There is the need to treat
all Americans equally and with dignity under the law and also in the social
sphere. It is, therefore, imperative that they are allowed to marry since it is
their right to be treated just as the heterosexuals are dealt with as well.
Denying the same-sex marriage is a form of legal inequality and also denies
some people their choices and freedom to choose (Evan, 100). Therefore, denying
such individuals their right to marriage is a violation of their fundamental
human rights. In fact, the struggle among the same sex couples to access their
fundamental freedoms and right to marriage is a form of second class status in society
that can only be understood in the context of the civil rights movement of the
people of color in the country. It is no different from the other cases of
segregation and discrimination against individuals that had been predominant in
the history of United States (Evan, 100).
The banning of gay
marriages has no constitutional basis. There are rare cases that arguments
against gay marriage cite its unconstitutionality, and it's because there is no
basis for banning it contained in the laws of the country. Moreover, the
constitution explicitly denies any state from depriving any individual from
their liberty without the due process of the law being followed. It also cites
that no citizen should be denied the opportunity to be protected by the
legislation of the country. The homosexuals and otherwise are all citizens,
law-abiding and equally, pay taxes, therefore, deserve these rights and legal
protection as every other citizen of the country (Evan, 100).
Gay marriages are also not
against the law since they do not infringe on the rights, freedoms and
liberties of others in society. Unlike denying them the right to marry, the
homosexuals do not get in the way of the heterosexuals. Just like the racial
integration in the country had no adverse impact on the white majority,
allowing the same-sex marriages will not affect the heterosexuals in any way.
In fact, gay marriage holds a promise of more advantages than disadvantages (Corvino and Maggie, 93).
One of the major benefits
of same-sex marriages is that it will lead to a reduction in divorce rates.
Many individuals end up in divorce because they are unhappy in the marriage or
that they were forced to seek companionship out of individuals of the opposite
sex despite the fact that they are moiré inclined to same-sex individuals. In
such cases, the divorces may be painful as the heterosexual person may feel
betrayed and lied to by their partner. It is a situation that would have been
averted if the homosexual individual was allowed to express their sexual orientation
freely without experiencing any form of discrimination or bias. It may reduce
suicide cases and also the trauma that is faced by some of the homosexuals. A
lot of the American youth are facing discrimination and bias in society and
also in institutions of learning due to their sexual orientation (Corvino and Maggie, 88). Due to the perceptions that majority, not the
heterosexuals hold against their homosexual counterparts, it makes it difficult
for the young gays to assert their sexual orientation. Those that cannot cope
with the pressure of the stigma that comes with being a homosexual may at times
result to committing suicide. There is, therefore, the need for the
legalization of gay marriage and also building of laws and institutions that
protect their rights and also protect them from any form of discrimination.
Straight couples have more
tights than the gay couples in the United States due to the conformist attitude
among individuals and also the predominant marriage inequality experienced in the
country. Many people want to stay within the comfort zone of the universal
style of doing things without considering the possibility of change and the
advantages attached to the modification (Corvino and Maggie, 87). Having
the heterosexual marriages being the predominant ones, there is a social, order
and social conformity that is attributed to marriage and it is this that
affects their decision-making processes. The social conformity is what results
in the resistance to change. As a result of social conformity, there is the
majority of the people that oppose same sex marriage leading to the opposition
of laws allowing for its legalization. America being a democracy, the majority
rule is usually the rule of the day and therefore, they have concentrated on
focusing on allowing the rights and freedoms of the traditional forms of
marriages which were heterosexual. Moreover, gay marriages have been an issue
kept in the dark without much debate on it being in the public sphere. In fact,
the majority of gay individuals even to date remain silent about it and do not
want to let others know since they are afraid of going against the social order
(Corvino and Maggie, 90). There is also a
significant stigma attached to homosexuality, and therefore, it is not debated
among individuals which lead to allocation of marriage benefits to the
heterosexual marriages.
The banning of gay marriage
is predominantly based on religious beliefs in the United States. There is,
therefore, the need to separate the religions from the legal processes and laws
of the country (Gordon,
Emily, and Jason Pierceson, 105). Religious
perspective primarily held by the majority who are Christians that homosexuals
are sinners should not have a place in the federal legislation of a country.
Legalizing of gay marriages will also not have any adverse effect on religion
and therefore it is not ideal that the religion tampers with such a fundamental
right of an individual. Furthermore, there is religious freedom as is allowed
by the Constitution of the United States and therefore, it is wrong to have
some religions impose a law on then rest. It is because some religious
organizations and individuals want to allow the gay marriage. There are
denominations such as Unitarians and the Progressive Synagogues that support
same-sex marriages, and therefore, it is an infringement of their freedom of
worship by opposing gay marriage based on the views of another religious
community. Laws prohibiting same-sex marriage deny such denominations and
religious groups supporting it from accessing their equal legal recognition of
their religious practices. It is, therefore, unfair to impose some religious
doctrines on individuals that do not believe or ascribe to them allowing the
same-sex marriage will be a step in the right direction at restoring and
enhancing the religious freedom in the United States.
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