Marriage is the civil rights for every individual, gay or straight. Many people believe that gays should have the same rights as straights do in their jobs, government benefits, and every other aspect of their lives except marriage. Why is that, because of religion or personal beliefs? In my opinion marriage is between two individuals that love each other, same-sex or not. Therefore legalizing gay marriages would only allow gays to have the same rights straight individuals do in making important health decisions, raising children and financial. Today our economy is in crisis and with legalizing same-sex marriages will not only boost the revue with "noticeable economic benefit" to our state instead of those couples traveling to another state to get married.(Welch) I am for legalizing gay marriages because I think every individual should all have the same rights. Being able to get married I think is mainly about the benefits that come with marriage. I don’t think that as little boys, gay men sat down and dreamed about their perfect wedding or that legalizing gay marriage will change anything drastically other than the lives of those who would then now be allowed to wed. I don’t believe the government should be permitted to make these important decisions. It should be left up to the individuals involved. If marriage is a huge issue than the government should find another option for gay men and lesbian women to choose where the same benefits that marriage gives straight people would then be allowed to homosexuals. It is the government’s job to protect the livelihood of all the citizens within their country and to ostracize gay men and women like this is the real issue and not what allowing same-sexed couples to marry would do to the sanctity of marriage. People can’t be all that worried about the sanctity of marriage when annulments and divorce are allowed.
The picture above is of my brother and his boyfriend. This is why I am I am for legalizing gay marriage.
Welch, Chris. "Economy enters same-sex marriage debate." Cnn.com. (March 6, 2009) web Sept. 12, 2009
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ReplyDeleteAs Rhonda said, the government should't be invoved with deciding if someone can marry another person of the same sex. I think it's a personal choice and that those two persons should be able to marry if that is what they choose. Now if a certain religion disapproves of marrying two people of the same sex than I think that they have the right to not marry them. A certain religion should be able to stick to their own guidelines no matter what the case is.
ReplyDeleteRhonda is right about the government and religion needing to be kept separate. Religion has been a big influence on the laws that are in place because it leads people down a certain path of thinking. Anyone familiar with gay marriage states should see that there are only 6 of 50 states where same-sex marriages are legal; Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont have been legally performing these marriages. Maine's law became effective as of Sept. 11, 2009 but the issue will be voted again in the November's ballot. New Hampshire is the sixth state and will be allowed to start performing legal same-sex marriages, January 1, 2010(Johnson). You would think that there would be a lot more states that have passed the law of being able to perform same-sex marriages. We live in a world where the divorce rate is very high and it almost seems crazy to keep people who truly love and care from getting married. It is sad to think that some gays have to try to live the straight life because they are scared of the way society would treat them.
ReplyDeleteWork Cited
Johnson, Ramon. "Gay World Tour-United States" About.com: Gay Life. (April 20, 2007) 11 Sept 2009
The movement to obtain marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples in the United States began in the early 1970s.(1) Since then gays have been fighting for their right to marry, just lately they have been passing laws for same-sex marriages. Religion is a big influince on laws today, most people believe that their religion is the ultimate law. It's hard to tell people their wrong when it comes to faith. It's hard for them to understand why we fight to let gays marry. I do believe that all 50 states will pass the law, it just a matter of time. Religion is and will always have a big effect on the world today, its just a matter of trying to compromise. There is always going to be a church out there that will accept a persons right to marry regardless of sexual preference. Gays could also get married by a judge. I don't believe anybody would want to be married in a church or by a clergy member that doesn't support their lifestyle anyways.
ReplyDeleteI would never think of my religion as being the main law to live by. I know it's not because the government and laws of the country will always overrule a way of faith. I think that all 50 states will allow it faster than most people would think. It was a huge issue that Massachusetts allowed gay marriage and ever since then nothing has been come close to a problem like it was then. I do know that some Minnesotans had a problem when Iowa passed the law because the News showed a bus load of gay couples traveling across to Iowa to be married. But that was only brought up locally and not a national issue like Massachusetts allowing it. I feel that there will be more states allowing it and many people will not be informed about it. I personally didn't know that six had already allowed it. I knew about Massachusetts and Iowa but not the other four.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, marriage is a civil right and should be everyone’s own decision whether or not to get married. The law should pass the right for gays to marry, but I do think each religion should be able to choose whether or not to marry them. According to a poll taken by Newsweek, “62 percent of Americans view gay marriage according to their religious beliefs. Two-thirds of Americans support gay marriage if it’s primarily a legal matter. And the other two-thirds oppose gay marriage if it’s mostly a religious matter” (Campo-Flores). I support gays being married, but to be fair to religion, if their belief is what they cherish, then we would be hypocrites to push our beliefs on them. I agree that the government does not have the right to say anything about people’s choices, but since religion and government are legally separate they should not use each other as an excuse.
ReplyDeleteCampo-Flores, Arian “A Gay Marriage Surge.” Newsweek. Newsweek, 5 Dec, 2008 WEB. 10 Sep. 2009.
I didn't realize that same-sex couples have been fighting for the same rights straight couples have already had for a long time. I also didn’t know until now after doing this project how many rights same-sex couples are losing just by co-habiting. I am not gay but if I was I think the biggest issues would be health insurance. In our hard economic times where millions of people are losing their jobs I have a real big issue with same-sex couples not having the right to add their spouses on to their health insurance. Everyone should be able to have that right and just because of who you choose to love prohibits you from going to the doctor is sad. I know there are some companies that have domestic partnership insurance and those companies allow same-sex couples to be added such as North West Airlines where all you need to do is live together for 18 months and your partner can get your benefits. This helps a lot for both gays who can’t legally get married and straight couples who have yet to get married. I think more companies should be like North West Airlines. But I think that if legalizing gay marriages isn’t going to become a law in every state then there should be some sort of law passed that allows same-sex couples to get insurance. However, I also believe that people who choose to just live together and not get married should also be able to go on their spouses insurance.
ReplyDeleteRhonda reminds us that Religion is one of the major influences in not legalizing gay marriages but I think it’s a copout. Many people pull the Religion card a little too much. I can’t see how these two are on the same lines. I understand that churches would have to be the one marrying you but as I said before there are many churches that refuse to marry couples all the time. I think that it is going to be a long tough journey to get gay marriage legalized in every state especially in the more republican states. In conclusion, with only 6 states that have passed the law to legalized gay marriages it doesn’t seem like many more states are going to follow. Not unless there is a major backing from the president and all the way down. I think this should be a national law not a state to state. With only 6 states seems like such a lows number considering advocates have been fighting for more than 30 years to get this law passed. I feel that we should be a lot further along with legalizing gay marriages. I do feel that this will be legalized in Minnesota in my lifetime. However, I think it is going to take a huge leap to do so.
That's one thing that I also have always questioned. Why is the choice to allow gay marriage on a state level? I think it should be a national decision. Every person living in the United States is under all national laws but there are different laws for each state. I don't think it is right that you have to travel across a state border to be married. You are still under national law and I don't believe that all you have to do is travel to a different town. I always believe that there should be a national poll on allowing gay marriage because I don't see the point in one state allowing it and one that doesn't. If all it takes is to drive somewhere that does then I feel there is no point in the states that don't allow it. As I said before, there was a bus of Minnesotans that went to Iowa to be married. I just think it should or shouldn't be allowed within all 50 states.
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