O’Neil 1

Dani O`Neil

McLaughlin

English 12

9 March 2018

Same-Sex Marriage Should be Legal

What is same-sex marriage? It is the marriage between two partners of the same sex.

Same-sex marriage should be legal in every state throughout the United States. Couples should

be able to be with whoever makes them the happiest. Others may say this is not okay because of

their religious beliefs. In 2015, 60% of Americans polled supported same-sex marriage (“Gay

Marriage”). As times and society have changed, so has the the idea of what a marriage is. Even

though it is a common myth that half of all marriages end in divorce, the number still remains

high at about forty-percent (Shamsian). Regardless of the numbers, same-sex marriage should be

legalized in every state in America to ensure equality, better the economy and to ensure basic

human rights are not being denied.

As Hendrik Hertzberg once said “ Marriage should be between a spouse and a spouse, not

a gender and a gender.” However marriage has changed dramatically over the last thirty years.

Todays century the old traditional marriages have decreased. Meanwhile, same - sex marriages

have increased. All americans throughout the United States should be allowed to be married to

the love of their life without the courts denying them.

On June 28, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5:4 that marriage is a fundamental right

and cannot be denied to any human (“Gay Marriage”). It is very difficult to accurately measure

the divorce rate, but it remains high. Many are unaware that allowing same-sex marriage will
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help decrease the divorce rate. By allowing LGBT couples to marry, the marriage rate will

increase and also stabilize the divorce rate.

Many LGBT teens and kids are kicked out of their homes everyday because they are not

accepted by their family and friends. Most of them become homeless and end up living on the

streets with nowhere to go. Rather than being accepted and allowing them to live freely and

happily, this society is criminalizing the homosexual lifestyle.

Allowing LGBT couples the right to be married will allow them to have hospital

visitations and medical rights to make medical decisions on the behalf of their partner or spouse.

When the Supreme Court denies gay marriage they do not realize that they are also denying them

their fundamental rights. America claims it does not want to discriminate anyone or create a

second class but when a person is denied basic rights because of his or her sexual orientation,

they are doing exactly that.

Letting same-sex couples marry can and will help boost the economy in many ways.

More than half (56%) of all the baby boomers are in favor of allowing same gender couples get

married knowing that we all need to have the same equal benefits.

Same-sex marriage is protected by the U.S Constitution’s commitments to liberty and

equality. ​NBC​ Statics News Roll in 1973 on homosexuality shows that 52% of people say it is

immoral, 38% say it is not okay while 10% are not sure. Years after that the Civil Unions was

made. It's still not the same as marriage.

LGBT`s should be free to negotiate the kind of relationship that best suits their needs, not

based on what others needs are. They should be able to make their own choices in life on who

they want to be with. Marriage is an important milestone in life to many individuals and gays
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want to experience it just like the traditional couples do. Those who disagree do not understand

what real love is.

More than half of the LGBT population (married or single) live in states where they are

subject to legal jobs or housing discrimination that needs to come to an end. Thanks to the recent

decisions by the Supreme Court, thousands of gay couples across the country are able to raise

kids and enjoy some of the benefits that straight couples have. The District of Columbia is now

also allowing same-sex couple to register as domestic partners.

Denying same-sex marriage shows people that gay couples are not worthy of having

equal treatment like straight couples. Gays should be allowed to have the freedom to achieve

their full potential in life when it comes to getting married. Allowing them to get married will

provide an economic boost to the states and countries that embrace having same-sex marriage.

Many homophobes believe that “Gay is sin.” However, being gay is not a sin. Society

needs to stop preaching this archaic belief. Most teens commit suicide from being bullied and

thinking that they are discriminated for being gay. Those who are gay are real people. They have

the same feelings as straight people do. They know what love is and when they find the one they

love, they want to marry them just like everyone else does. This is not a sin.

Most straight couples will say marriage is for procreation, but there are a lot of

traditionally married couples in the U.S. who are married and have been for a long time and still

do not have kids. So what is the difference? They just people want to be happy. All kids need to

be loved, whether it is by heterosexual parents or homosexual parents. The love is still there.
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In conclusion, the fight for same-sex marriage needs to continue so those who are LGBT

can finally be happily married. The discrimination and mistreatment must to come to an end.

This country must recognize and respect that not all Americans are straight and want a traditional

marriage or lifestyle. The time to act is now.

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Works Cited

Coontz, Stephanie. “Marriage Is Not What It Seems.” ​Phi Kappa Phi Forum​, vol. 96, no. 1,

Spring, p. 22. EBCSOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truea&bmfm&AN

=113548920&site=ehost-live.

“Gay Marriage.” ​ProCon.org​, ProCon.org, 11 Jan 2018,

gaymarriage.procon.org/. Accessed 23 Jan 2018.

History.com Staff. “Gay Marriage.” ​History.com​, A&E Television Networks, 2017,

www.history.com/topics/gay-marriage. Accessed 01 Feb 2018.

King, Alex. “10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage Should Be Legalized.” ​Infogram: Create

Infographics, Reports and Maps​, infogram.com/10-reasons-why-gay-marriage-

should-be-legalized-1gd0gmj7rzdym1q. Accessed 05 Feb 2018.

Olson, Jenni and Amie Segal. ​The Freedom to Marry​. Eyepop Production, 2016.

Shamsian, Jacob. “The Common Statistic that ‘Half of Marriages End in Divorce’ Is Bogus.”

​theinsider.com​, Insider Inc, 9 Feb. 2017, www.thisisinsider.com/what-is-the-divorce-

rate-2017-2. Accessed 27 Feb. 2018.