Thesis Statement: I believe that homosexuals should be granted the right to marry and receive the same benefits, rights, and protections as heterosexual married couples.
“I love you. Let’s get married!” These words have been spoken many times, by many people. Most often a man to a woman, sometimes a woman to a man, and most recently, and man to man and woman to woman. However, in those last two cases, getting married isn’t just a cheap flight to Vegas for the weekend. It’s been a struggle for over 40 years, since the gay rights revolution.
There are a numerous amount of reasons as to why people oppose gay marriage, but basically it comes down to an absolute infringement on the civil liberties of homosexuals. The most basic argument for the opposition to gay marriage is the simple statement “Marriage is an institution between one man and one woman.” I would like to know who is to decide what marriage is and isn’t. The married? Politicians? The Bible? Isn’t freedom of religion also freedom from religion? Somehow the “Bible” assertion always seems to arise into modern political debates. I want to know whatever happened to separation from religion and state. I want to know when white male Christians are going to realize that there are many other religions, races, and sexual orientations out there other than their own. In fact, Scott Bidstrup cleverly states, “many sects of Buddhist celebrate gay relationships freely and would like to have the authority to make them legal marriages. In that sense, their religious freedom is being infringed.”
Although, the Bible argument should immediately be dicounted, even if we were to survey the text, who is to interpret the statements. “People in the late 1800s and early 1900s justified the exploitation of slaves claiming that the Bible clearly showed Gods support for it. Now people are saying that they can clearly see Gods condemnation of gays.” (Silver 64)
For a moment, branching off from the marriage topic, I’d like to just briefly discuss past attitudes about homosexuality. Homosexuality was once classified as a psychological disorder. Not only were gays different than everyone else, they were actually claimed to be insane. More recently the American Psychological Association has released the statement that “Homosexuality, per se, implies no impairment in judgement, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities.” In addition, sexuality can not be changed. “Changing one’s sexual orientation is not simply a matter of changing one’s sexual behavior. It would require altering one’s emotional, romantic, and sexual feelings and restructuring one’s self concept and social identity.” (Williams 22) Basically, it would be equivalent to “changing” a heterosexual into a homosexual. As absurd as that sounds to straight folk, it has been happening to gays for centuries. Gay people have generally not been accepted with open arms. Of the 30% of people who are unhappy about their homosexual orientation the single strongest reason is the rejection that they felt and experienced from society in general. (Williams 25)
Because same-sex couples are denied the right to marry they are denied 1,138 federal rights protections and responsibilities automatically granted to married heterosexual couples. For example, in a medical emergency, a spouse has the right to make decisions on the partner’s behalf. If unmarried the legal “next of kin” gains this right. Even in a same-sex union were the homosexual couple has adopted children together, they are not allowed to make any financial or medical decisions. In addition they are denied the right to share equitably all jointly held property and debt in the event of a breakup, denied family-related social security benefits, income and estate tax benefits, and disability benefits, denied the right to inherit property from a partner in the absence of a will, and denied the right to purchase continued health coverage for their domestic partner after the loss of a job. A drug addict, an rapist, a murderer never waives any of these rights, however if you’re homosexual you are denied all of them.
In relationships that involve children it is especially hard. Andrew Sullivan states, “One of the driving forces behind the push for marriage has been the fact that so many of us are having kids, and without marriage you have no secure relationship. Marriage is at the core of the problem and it is the central answer.”
Finally, the last injustice regarding same-sex marriage that needs to be addressed is the issue on amending the constitution in order to prevent gays from getting married. In the entire 214 year history of the Constitution it was amended 18 times, to include the Bill of Rights, to abolish slavery, to keep government out of people’s lives, and to give young women and people the right to vote. It should not be used to single out a group of people for discrimination. Regardless of your moral standing on the issue of same-sex couples, and marriage, Americans need to fight this amendment with ever fiber of their being.
Besides all of the financial reasons, aside from the legal reasons, apart from the civil rights reasons, there is a huge reason as to why gay people desperately want the right to marry. They are in love. They are hopelessly, romantically, physically, and emotionally in love with their partner just as heterosexual couples are. They want to openly share their love and sanctify it with a marriage ceremony. They want everyone to know that what they have is real, and they want it to last a lifetime. How is any of that impure, or sinful? Hopefully one day this country really will be equal, and hopefully everyone will be able to marry the one person that they love.

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