Two people meet, fall in love, and want to get married and start a family together. But, it is illegal for these two to get married because they are of the same gender. To the government, same-sex couples are not equal to heterosexual couples so marriages, along with many other rights are denied. Gay marriage should be legalized because everyone should be allowed to marry the person they love.

Tom and Shane were just like any other happy couple in love. There was just one problem; it was illegal for them to get married because of the gay marriage laws in the state they lived in. Shane and Tom vowed to get married as soon as it was legalized. Sadly, this never happened because Tom died tragically in 2011. Shane was heartbroken and what made it worse was that Tom’s parents were not supportive of Tom and Shane, so Shane was not given any information on how Tom died, and Shane was not permitted to attend Tom’s funeral. To the government, Shane was just Tom’s roommate and there was nothing Shane could do to help find closure. Tom’s family basically erased Shane from Tom’s life even though Shane was the most important person to Tom. Shane was powerless and had no legal rights to any information on Tom’s death or the events that followed because they were not married.

Shane’s story helped me see the consequences of not being legally allowed to marry. This is important to gay people because terrible consequences, such as not having any rights after your loved one dies, can result from not being allowed to marry who you love. Many rights are denied when marriage is denied which is one reason why I believe same-sex marriage should be legalized in all states. Even though it doesn’t affect me directly, I still believe it is right. If Shane and Tom were allowed to marry, many things would’ve been different and it would’ve been a lot easier for Shane to get closure. There are many people like Shane out there looking for closure they will never get, but could’ve got if gay marriage was legal.

In addition, if same-sex marriage is legalized it is believed that adoption rates will dramatically increase and many more children would have a home. Gay couples already adopt but it is a lot easier to adopt if you are married. Also, when people are married often they will want to start a family. The American Academy of Pediatrics declared in February that “allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry is in the best interests of children”.

Furthermore, many people already support gay marriage. About 61 percent of Californians say they support the right to marry for same-sex couples. Only 32 percent were in favor of denying same-sex couples this right. Eight national polls were conducted this year and on average 51 percent of people approve same-sex marriage. Also, since 1996, support for gay marriage has increased steadily from about 30 percent to about 50 percent currently and is thought to continue to increase.

However, some people still believe same-sex couples should be denied the right to marry because the purpose of marriage is offspring and same-sex couples cannot reproduce. This is wrong because the purpose of marriage is to marry the person you love, not to have children. Plenty of couples who are unable to have children for a variety of reasons, such as being infertile or older, or do not want children are still allowed to marry so why aren’t gay people allowed to marry? The purpose of marriage is love, not offspring.

Gay marriage is illegal in many places but it is our job to stand up for equality by accepting everyone for who they are, promoting tolerance for gay/lesbian couples, and by sharing our stories to spread the word about homosexual marriage. Spread support for gay marriage because marriage is a human right, not a heterosexual privilege.