1. Yes! Same sex marriage should be legalized in the U.S.
a. David Blankenhorn Founder and President of the Institute for American Values,
New York Times "How My View on Gay Marriage Changed, “I don’t believe that opposite-sex and same-sex relationships are the same, but I do believe, with growing numbers of Americans, that the time for denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over. Whatever one’s definition of marriage, legally recognizing gay and lesbian couples and their children is a victory for basic fairness.”
b. Why? Because
1. Same sex marriage is a Constitutional right
2. Gays Are able to ‘reproduce’
3. It’s not a choice, it’s a mind-set, it’s not being forced on anyone
4. It will create more jobs, More jobs and better economy
5. Exemplifies the The pursuit of happiness
2. Constitutional right
a. Equality means“quality or state of having the same rights, social status, etc”.
If all men and women are to be created equal, all men and women are to be free to marry who they want and love.
b. The US Supreme Court ruled in 1974’s Cleveland Board of Education v.
LaFleur "freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause.”
US District Judge Vaughn Walker wrote on Aug. 4, 2010 that Prop. 8 in
California banning gay marriage was "unconstitutional under both the Due Process and
Equal Protection Clauses."
c. The 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia confirmed that marriage is
"one of the basic civil rights of man," and same-sex marriages should receive the same protections given to interracial marriages by that ruling.
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), on
May 19, 2012, named same-sex marriage as "one of the key civil rights struggles of our time." d. As of January of this year, 17 states have legalized same sex marriage;
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Washington,
Maine, Maryland, California, Delaware, Rhode Island, Minnesota, New Jersey, Hawaii,
New Mexico, and Illinois. And 33 states have gay marriage bans, Arizona included.
3. Basically the same as any other marriage
a. If people believe that gay couples shouldn’t be allowed to marry is because they cannot naturally reproduce, then with that same logic, infertile couples should not be allowed to marry
b. Because couples would either adopt, use a surrogate, or go the in-vitro route, more orphans would have loving homes because of higher adoption rates.
As Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein argues, "We should be begging gay couples to adopt children. We should see this as a great boon that gay marriage could bring to kids who need nothing more than two loving parents."
4. It’s not a choice, it’s a mindset, it’s not being forced upon anyone or brainwashing anyone a. Homosexuals are just like heterosexuals, we can’t help who we fall in love with
b. Seeing a gay couple in public won’t brainwash children into becoming gay/lesbian
c. Nobody forces anyone to be gay
5. Same-sex marriage is now becoming more of an issue about economy rather than morals a. The Congressional Budget Office estimated on Dec. 17, 2009 that extending employment benefits to same-sex domestic partners of federal employees would cost the federal government $596 million in mandatory spending and $302 million in discretionary spending between 2010 and 2019.
This is ridiculous, that money would have to be spent if everyone was straight.
b. The Comptroller’s Office estimates that the economic impact of marriage equality would add$142 million, on a net basis, to New York City’s economy during the three years following legislative approval.
It would add about $184 million, on a net basis, in spending to the State’s economy. The
$142 million benefit to New York City’s economy includes spending on weddings by New
York State residents who live outside the City but choose to marry here.
6.