Gay Marriage Essay

“Marriage (noun): the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments; a similar institution involving partners of the same gender.” On dictionary.com there are multiple definitions of the word ‘marriage’ and they all have corresponding interpretations. Each one states marriage is an institution involving two people in love; the gender of the two is not clarified apart from only one definition given. The lack of gender specification, however, is quite beneficial when discussing views in favor of marriage rights for gay men and women. Marriage rights for same sex couples in America is a very serious subject that has done nothing but intensify over the years. The debate over the constitutionality of equal marriage rights for gay men and women has also done nothing but accelerate. However, despite such controversies that have been occurring for decades, the issue is slowly starting to positively progress. Same sex marriage is now recognized by a small number of states across the US, but still not by the federal government. The struggle gay men and women have endured over the years needs to be acknowledged. They are living their lives without the ability to obtain the rights the majority of Americans take for granted and have yet to appreciate. A great percentage of those unappreciative Americans have broadcasted their views and beliefs on the topic at hand and have also, consequently, been influential in the illogical reasoning as to why same sex marriage is still prohibited. Such people are the opponents of same sex marriage and are blind with ignorance; their list as to why same sex couples should not be married is unintelligible and can easily be contradicted. Granted, there are those who contest due to religious reasons, which has to be understood, but that does not excuse the federal government and those with any form of political supremacy. After all, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution clearly states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (Anderson 1421). The lack of equality in our judicial system discriminating against same sex couples is ghastly and there is an overabundance of court cases whose verdicts are nothing but unjust to support this claim. Every human being has the right to his or her own outlook, which should be respected and cherished; however, one’s views should never influence another’s independence. The fight for same sex marriage rights has been transpiring for decades and has been gradually improving. In the past thirty years the progress made by gay rights activists has been vastly significant in comparison to the previous manner in which gay men and women were treated and the conditions they had to succumb to. Over the years they had to tolerate immense amounts of hatred, they had to suffer through unimaginable discrimination from their own friends and family, they had to bear being blamed for the AIDS epidemic, and they had to abide by the numerous new laws being constructed that only suffocated their individuality even further. Gay men and women may possess a modest amount of privileges, more or less due to the irrationality of the federal government, but they fought long and hard for every right they currently have through rigorous protests and meticulous,

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