English 2R Pettinato
Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to society. Being married to someone you love should be a right and a privelage. Someones sexual orientation, whether heterosexual of homosexual, shouldnt prevent them from having equal human rights.
Homosexuality is a sexual or platonic relation of the representatives of the same sex. The attitude of the public towards homosexuality is extremely different: there are people who support it or are simply tolerant about it, the others are radically against of homosexuality supporting their idea with the religious views and cultural aspects. Although gays and lesbians entered the mainstream of American society back in the 90's, their welcome was muted among broad sections of the culture, especially within relgious institutions. Discriminations towards homosexualilty today is different and a great number of people, mostly representatives of religious organizations and churches, fight against homosexuality claiming it is a terrible sin and immoral behavior. For example, in Christianity, the Bible states that a marriage consists of one woman and one man which leads people to believe that gay couples are abnormal and wrong. On the other hand, the supporters of homosexuality advertise their orientation all over the world in different ways striving to receive tolerant attitude of the public. For example, in 1978 the Presbyterian Church USA stated that "Homosexual persons are encompassed by the searching love of Christ. The church must turn away from its fear and hatred to move toward the homosexual community in lover and to welcome homosexual inquirers to its congregations." (Homosexuality and the Churches, 2/5). Same-sex couples are also given unequal human rights. One example of unequal rights, and the most talked about, is the right to marriage. About 73% of states in the U.S dont allow same-sex marriage but in some states, civil unions are the option given to gay couples who would like to marry. Marriage comes with many benefits like tax and government benefits, gay couples who would like to marry dont see civil unions as fair due to no benefits. Another unequal human right is human dignitity. Gay and Lesbians dignity is destroyed everyday due to their sexual oreintation. Same-sex couples are also rejected things like Medicare and Welfare and public assistance. Constitutional claims in support of same-sex marriage involve two dominant themes: (1) that the Constitution protects as a fundamental right the choice to marry another consenting adult of the same-sex and (2) that refusal to permit same-sex couples to marry denies the equal protection of the laws. (Same-Sex Marriage II, 1/3).
There are many benefits on legalizing same-sex marriage on the economy. For example, legalizing same-sex marriage would help curb the deficit. A widely-cited 2004 analysis from the Congressional Budget Office estimated that legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide would have a small, net