Gay Marriage
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We as a society in this country are given civil rights. These rights include the freedom of speech, freedom of press, the right to vote and the right to equality in public places. These rights are granted regardless of race, religion, or sex. Discrimination occurs when these rights are denied because one belongs to a particular group or class, such as being African American or of Jewish religion (Wikipedia, 2008). Where does gay and lesbian fall? Is this a class or group? This is a sexual preference and one that has become about ten percent of the population (Lamannna/Riedmann, 2008). It is no surprise that the gay community has been fighting for the right to marry and gain the benefits as a heterosexual married couple would. Gays believe it is a violation of their civil rights to be denied marriage. Many people disagree. Recognizing gay marriage has been a controversial issue for many years. The question still remains, whether or not same sex marriage should be legal.
The gay community will claim they feel they are second class citizens because they are denied one of the most sacred institutions, marriage. Gay couples are couples just as a heterosexual couple that love each other and want to form a unity and share their lives together. There are also legal benefits that his community would like to be able to have rights to as well. In cases such as who gets survivor benefits most agencies will only allow surviving spouses or close relatives. A same sex couple may not file a joint tax return to lower their taxes as heterosexual couples can. Gay couples are also inconvenienced in situations where next only next of kin are allowed, such as hospital visitation rights in time a serious illness. One of the biggest rights that marriage has is adoption. There are several states that do not allow gay adoption nor do they allow for second parent adoption in same sex couples in the event of a loss or separation. These struggles hardly seem humane nor do they seem to follow the civil rights act. One could say that being gay is not the norm and they are a separate class of people. Civil Rights Act defends one from being discriminated because of the class of people. There does not seem to be a logical reason why two people cannot be united and share their lives and receive the privileges of marriage just as a heterosexual couples would. A gay couple can love a child as much as any other couple. A child who is wanted and can be loved is better than a child who is abused or unwanted. So why not let couples of the same sex adopt. We let step parents adopt children from other biological parents; couples in a gay marriage should be afforded the same opportunities. They are people just as heterosexuals are. We should not let our ethnocentrism get in the way of the civil rights of others. This is just one view, of course America is divided on this issue which makes is such a controversy.
It is obviously not the gay community that opposes gay marriage it is members of our heterosexual society. A Gallup poll shows an upward trend in attitude in the 1990’s. There was an increase from 38 percent to 52 percent agreement with the idea that homosexuality is an alternative acceptable lifestyle (Lamannna/Riedmann, 2008). This upward trend began to drop the more these issues became more prominent and the more the media put it in the spotlight. The most recent polls show that about half of the Americans oppose gay marriage and would vote for an amendment that defined and protected marriage as “the union of man one and one woman as husband and wife as well as necessarily heterosexual” (Lamannna/Riedmann, 2008). This amendment was proposed to congress by President Bush. There were also Americans who felt that it would be acceptable to give rights of marriage to gays but not let them have the label of “married”. Why do Americans oppose same sex marriage and the rights to marriage? Marriage is mainly a religious matter and it is very sacred. The purpose of marriage between a man and woman is for procreation and to form a family. Gay couples cannot procreate. It is also believed that only heterosexuals can provide the best family environment in raising children, although, there is no concrete evidence that this