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Why Homosexual Marriage Should be Legalized
In the United States of America, Americans pride themselves on the fact that the country is free for all, but in reality it is not true.There are many groups in our country that are restricted from the full rights that were established in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. It is the duty of the governing bodies of our country to uphold the laws created to assure equal rights for all, and to bar the laws that are prohibiting them.
In the Declaration of Independence, it is stated that all people have “unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (“The Declaration of Independence). Many states have denied the homosexual community the right to obtain legal marriage status. This directly impedes their ability to show their love in a legal manner. It is the right of all American citizens to love whomever they wish, and this is difficult to achieve without the right to marry. In addition, many people say that getting married is the happiest thing one can experience, and this joyful experience is being withheld from the homosexual community. This is a direct violation of the moral standards our country was founded on. In the very first amendment to the constitution, it is stated that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” which is interpreted as meaning that clerical bodies and governing bodies will have no effect on each other (“Bill of Rights”). A main argument against the legality of marriage is that it goes against several large religions, such as Christianity and Islam. Since church and state in theory have no relations with each other, this argument becomes quite invalid.
Another reason that homosexual people should be allowed to marry is legal procedures. For example, when a person is in the hospital, and a visitor comes, the question “friend or family” is often asked. As homosexual couples are not married, the non-injured partner must answer as a friend, and risk not being able to see his or her partner. With the marriage of the partners, it would significantly increase the likelihood that the partners would be able to see each other, as they would then be family. In the case of wills, not being legally married also posses a large issue, because “that person has chose to leave their entire estate to a non-family member” which can cause legal issues ( "Language in Wills for Gay Couples"). When an entire estate is left to a non family member, then it is applicable to be challenged by a family member that believes, or wants the court to believe, that the writer of the will was not in the right of mind when publishing the will, and therefore the estate should go to family members. By not being able to marry, the homosexual community is plagued by a plethora of legal issues. These are not the only issues that they have to deal with.
Besides having to deal with violations of their constitutional rights, and legal troubles aplenty, they have to deal with the people that believe that marriage is only needed for procreation. This argument is incorrect on several levels. Firstly, it would only be valid if only married people had children, which is not always true as couples sometimes decide to have kids before they have been legally married. Also, if you follow the extensive logic made by this claim, then people who are infertile or who are infertile should not be allowed to be married. Texas politician Greg Abbott has stated in respect to homosexual marriage that “Because opposite-sex relationships are the only union that is biologically capable of producing offspring, it is rational to believe that opposite-sex marriages will generate new offspring to a greater extent than same-sex marriages will” (Margolin). This is ironic, as Greg Abbott is paralyzed from the waist down and therefore incapable of having children, so should be allowed to be married. The argument that homosexuals should not be allowed to marry because they cannot produce offspring is entirely nonsensical. If you look at this subject from the point of view that our planet is very overcrowded, then homosexuals not being able to reproduce is actually a benefit. Adding to this is the fact that many homosexual couples choose to adopt as a replacement for not being able to procreate. This adopting can sometimes bring a child who would possibly grow up in a troubled home, where he would not have enough food to eat and possibly starve to death in some foreign place, the chance to grow up and prosper in a healthy environment.
A survey of the United States of America reports that of all adults,there are “1.7% who identify as lesbian or gay” (Gates). This may not seem like a large number, but in reality it is millions of people who cannot be married because they live in one of the “13 States with Same-Sex Marriage Bans” (37 States). These people are all being wronged of the rights they are guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States.
In conclusion, the members of the homosexual community should be allowed to marry for it is within their legal right to do so, and there are many legal benefits to being married. There are no good arguments with with to oppose the marriage of same-sex couples. All political representatives in states barring the marriage of these couples should strongly reconsider their position, if they are against it, and side with the values that this country was founded off of and allow all citizens of this land their rights.
Work Cited
"The Declaration of Independence." The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation.
Web. 23 Feb. 2015. .
"Bill of Rights." Bill of Rights Institute Bill of Rights Comments. Bill of Rights Institute.
Web. 24 Feb. 2015. .
"Language in Wills for Gay Couples." Law Office of Gideon I Alper RSS. Law Office of
Gideon I Alper RSS. Web. 26 Feb. 2015. .
Margolin, Emma. "Abbott's Mind-bending Defense of Banning Gay
Marriage."Msnbc.com. NBC News Digital, 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
Gates, Gary. "How Many People Are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender?"Williams
Institute. 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
"37 States with Legal Gay Marriage and 13 States with Same-Sex Marriage Bans - Gay
Marriage - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
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