To whom it may concern, I am at student currently attending Salt Lake Community College.

I was tasked with writing a letter concerning same-sex marriage and constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA. I wrote this letter hoping to shed some light on some critical issues that may be simply overlooked. Keep in mind I am a humanities student, so I collected the appropriate information to make a proper evaluation of this sensitive situation. This included a claim, research, analyzing the evidence, supporting arguments, my own opinion, a conclusion and finally a reflection. All in hopes of educating, changing some minds and hopefully influences you to make the right decision. Claim: Same sex marriage, a touchy subject to some. A heated debate to others. Involving religion, morals and human rights. Under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act section 3, it clearly states that the word Marriage means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband or a wife, and the word Spouse refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife. Recently this bill has been declared unconstitutional by several federal courts. Yet it still remains in effect. Research: After researching several government websites and a few newspaper articles, Ive found my top three pros and cons. All the cons Im about to list are what the majority of t he people who are against same-sex marriage argue. The first would definitely have to be religion by far. Almost any religion you can think of is against same-sex marriage. Christians, Catholics, Islam, Judaism and even LDS or Mormons. It is unholy and frowned upon in all these religions. The Second would have to be fear. Fear that it will lead down a slippery slope an open the door to polygamy, incestuous and other non-traditional relationships the right to marry. Fear that people will have to pay taxes for something they dont believe in. The third is reproduction; one of the biggest focal points of marriage is to have kids and produce a family. There is also the fear that kids raised by same sex couples will produce more homosexuals. The next three things I am going to list are pros which I believe validate same-sex marriage. The first pro that many would not think of is that it will actually boost our economy. In a study by the Williams Institute at UCLA law school estimated the positive economic impact of legalizing gay marriage in New Jersey to be $248

million over three years. Creating 800 new jobs and bringing in an additional $19 million in government revenues. The second pro is that its already legal in nine states, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Maine and Washington all legalized same sex marriage. In addition to this; the following 11 countries worldwide have legalized same-sex marriage; The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Argentina, Iceland, Portugal and Denmark. The last one is simply Love. If parents can arrange marriage without the childs consent or even being of age then why cant two people who love each other and marry one another? Analyze Evidence: The first piece of evidence I chose to analyze was the cost of same- sex marriage. It is true that same-sex marriage will cost money. It would entitle gay couples to typical marriage benefits including receiving social security payments from a deceased spouse. Yet I still believe the upside of legalizing same-sex marriage outweighs this. It would boost our economy significantly. In a study done by the comptroller of New York City it was projected that gay marriage would generate $142 million to the citys economy and $184 Million to the states economy. Yes, this is over the next three years but this is just one city. Imagine if the whole nation legalized it. In another study that I listed earlier done by the Williams Institute at UCLA law school it showed that if gay marriage was legalized in the state of New Jersey it would create 800 new jobs over three years. Now take that into consideration and picture the whole country thats a lot jobs and revenue generated. Talk about boosting our economy. I also analyzed the argument of divorce rates. In a study done by the U.S government, divorce rates in 2012 averaged around 40%. Thats two out of five or four out of ten marriages endi ng in divorce. Massachusetts, which was the first state to legalize same sex marriage saw a decrease in divorce rates by 21% in the years that followed after legalization. If youre worried about reproduction, you should be, but not because of gay marriag e. You should be worried that human beings are reproducing at a rate that greatly exceeds our food, water and energy. Supporting Arguments: For this next part Im going to use an example from each of the four major themes we discussed in class. Im going to discuss how that example would think about the issue and how that would impact my decision and the minds of others. The first major theme we discussed in class was our freedoms and rights. Living in this country we

are blessed with freedoms and rights that are unrivaled, envied and sought after worldwide. When you think of fighting for rights you have to bring up Martin Luther King Jr. and what he meant to the civil rights movement. It is true that Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of god but I think he would be pro-gay marriage. You have to consider the day and age we live in where being homosexual isnt such a taboo anymore. You also have to consider that Martin Luther King knows a thing or two about inequality and being discriminated first hand. Let me end with one of my favorite Marin Luther King quotes Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The next major theme we talked about was identity. When you think about identity, there are many things that play a factor. Like race, gender, morals, beliefs and heritage. One of my favorite readings from this was a story called How to Tame a Wild Tongue. It was written by Gloria Anzaldua who was gay. On top of that she was also a Mexican woman. All these things could hold you back if you allow it to. This story talks about accepting who you are. I believe that is what we need to do with gay community. Accept them for who they are and give them their rights. The third theme we discussed in class was death. My favorite piece on death was written by the great philosopher Plato, it was called Phaedo. It was about the death of one of the founding fathers of philosophy Socrates and how he embraced his fate. I also believe Socrates would be pro-gay marriage. Back then homosexuality was more common than one would think. The last theme we talked about was definitely a big one, it was religion. I cant help but wonde r if one of the major religious figures like Jesus Christ accepted homosexuals. If there would even be a debate about same sex marriage. Religion is the biggest argument against allowing it. Opinion: My opinion is simply to allow it. Its not like theyr e hurting anyone and who am I to say no to love. Homosexuals should have the right to get married and be miserable like the rest of us. On a more serious note it would give a much needed boost to our economy and create jobs that this country so desperately needs. As much as some people might not like the idea of allowing same-sex marriage but you cant argue with the numbers. Its true that at first it will cost us but think of it as investment towards our future for a brighter tomorrow. Is there really a better cause? Its also business 101; sometimes you have to spend money to make money. Another valid argument is love. Sounds a little childish but if you can abuse the system and marry someone strictly for financial reasons or be forced into marriage without ever meeting the individual you will wed. Then why cant two people who love each other and care for one another have the same rights. The last thing is human rights. As Americans we have an

obligation to fight for freedom. This country was founded on that idea, so why let this small thing hold this great country back. Conclusion: It just makes sense. Every way you look at. It will boost our economy. It will create more jobs. Its a great step towards equality and human rights. The only thing really holding us back is religion. People have been fighting over religion for thousands of years. The only difference now is that they all agree on hating homosexuality. People need to wake up and realize this is the 21st century, things are different now. Reflection: What I found in course as a base for understanding my personal interest and future desire to gain knowledge was simply to keep my mind open to all things. The most interesting part had to be learning had to be learning about all the major religions. It really gave me insight on their views and beliefs. The thing I took that will help me the most from this class was definitely my newly found humanity skills. This class absolutely helped me become a better human being and will aid me in continuing to be one. The challenges for this assignment had to be collecting legit facts for both sides of arguments. My paper reflects my mastery of this humanities course by stating facts for both sides and arguing my facts respectively. If I ever become personally invested in an issue like the one being addressed in this paper, I would have to evaluate my position on the situation and take proper steps to promote my cause based off of some of the many things I took from this course.

Sincerely,

Edwin Rogel