Pros and Cons of Same Sex Marriage

Final Grade Same sex marriage is when two people with the same gender get married. Most people label it as homosexual, gay or lesbian marriage. Allowing same gender couples to legally marry is considered to be one of the most important of all LGBT rights. Same sex marriage isn’t hurting anyone, personal I don’t have a problem with it. People should love and be able to marry anyone they please. America is supposed to be a free place.

Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, and Sweden are the 12 countries that allow same sex marriage. Alaska and Hawaii were the first states to legally ban gay marriage in 1998. As of Nov. 7, 2012, gay marriage has been legalized in nine US states (ME, MD, MA, CT, IA, VT, NH, NY, and WA) and the District of Columbia. Though gay marriage wasn't legal until the 2000s, gay couples were getting married on TV shows in the 1990s.

Sitcom Roseanne featured a gay marriage in 1995 while Friends featured a lesbian wedding in 1996. In 2004, the House passed what it called the Marriage Protection Act. This legislation would have prevented the federal courts from addressing the issue of marriage. The legislation was not brought up for a vote in the Senate. On May 9, 2012, President Obama made US History when he told ABC News, “I think same sex couples should be able to get married. ” Obama was reelected for a second term in November, 2012.

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In recent polls, about 70 percent of voters under the age of 30 support same-sex marriage. It would be a major step forward for our country in ensuring all citizens have equal rights and no one is discriminated against based on things such as race, gender, religion, sexual preference, disability, and other factors that don’t determine a person’s self-worth and contribution to society. One issue that people have with same sex marriage is parenting. Scientific research shows that lesbian and gay parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents.

I don’t think it’s fair that when a same gender couple adopt one parent has to be labeled as the step parent. Since gay couples cannot have kids naturally, this will likely increase the desire to adopt. Since there are so many kids around the country in need of adoption, this is a good thing. Marriage benefits should be available to all couples even if they are same sex. It is completely unfair to deny these privileges to people because their relationship doesn't fit the state's definition of one. Denying these marriages is a form of minority discrimination.

Denying marriage to a homosexual couple is no different than denying marriage to Hipic or black couples. An overwhelming amount of research has been done showing that homosexuality has a biological causation; not a genetic one, but a biological one. The easiest way to think of it is as a hormonal switch that gets thrown one way or the other. And if you think about it, it makes logical sense. Consider many gays and lesbians you've seen. The only thing that should matter in marriage is love. Marriage is commitments that say “I love you so much and I’m not leaving you for nothing in this world. There are lower STD rates among married homosexuals than among non-married or cohabiting homosexual couples. Married gay couples have higher average incomes than non-married or cohabiting gay couples. The same financial benefits that apply to opposite sex marriages would apply to same-sex marriages. These are some cons people have to say about same sex marriage. Most religions consider homosexuality a sin. Virtually every religion in the world, including the major ones in this country, considers homosexuality unacceptable.

It is offensive and a swipe to the religious freedom of the majority to have to recognize a relationship they consider sinful. It confuses children about gender roles and expectations of society, and only a man & woman can pro-create. Children learn about expectations and gender roles from society. It's difficult to teach the importance and traditions of the family when such confusion is thrust upon them. The gay lifestyle is not something to be encouraged, as a lot of research shows it leads to a much lower life expectancy, psychological disorders, and other problems.

Studies show that homosexuals, for a variety of reasons, have life expectancies of approximately 20 years less than the general population. Just like a lifestyle of smoking and drinking unhealthy lifestyles should be discouraged. It would weaken the definition and respect for the institution of marriage. Marriage should not be extended to same-sex couples because homosexual relationships have nothing to do with procreation. Allowing gay marriage would only further shift the purpose of marriage from producing and raising children to adult gratification.

Transmission rates of STDs through homosexual intercourse are higher than heterosexual intercourse. Both cannot be biological parents of their own children. Timeline:

• September 21, 1996: President Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage and defining marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. "
• December 20, 1999: The Vermont Supreme Court rules that gay and lesbian couples should be given the same rights as heterosexual couples. November 18, 2003: The Massachusetts Supreme Court rules that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
• February 20, 2004: Sandoval County, New Mexico, issues 26 same-sex marriage licenses, but they are nullified by the state attorney general that day. • February 12 to March 11, 2004: Nearly 4,000 same-sex couples get marriage licenses in San Francisco.
• February 24, 2004: President Bush announces support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
• February 27, 2004: New Paltz, New York, Mayor Jason West performs same-sex marriages for about a dozen couples.
• March 3, 2004: In Portland, Oregon, the Multnomah County Clerk's Office issues marriage licenses for same-sex couples. Benton County follows on March 24.
• June 7, 2004: West is issued a permanent injunction by the Ulster County Supreme Court against marrying same-sex couples.
• March 11, 2004: The California Supreme Court orders San Francisco to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
• May 17, 2004: The first legal same-sex marriages in U. S. history are performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• July 14, 2004: The U.S. Senate blocks a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage (48 votes out of 60 needed).
• August 12, 2004: The California Supreme Court orders San Francisco officials, including Mayor Gavin Newsom, not to license additional same-sex marriages, pending resolution of the constitutional challenges to state marriage statutes
• April 25, 2011: King & Spalding, the private law firm hired by House Speaker John Boehner, backs out of defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
• May 12, 2011: Delaware Gov.
• Jack Markell signs legislation allowing civil unions between same-sex couples. The bill will take effect January 1, 2012.
• June 14, 2011: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York proposes the Marriage Equality Act, a bill to legalizes marriage for same-sex couples.
• June 14, 2011: U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California upholds a lower court ruling invalidating California's Proposition 8's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. The ruling had been challenged when the lower court's judge was found to be gay.
• June 24, 2011: The New York Senate votes to legalize same-sex marriage. Cuomo signs the bill just before midnight, and the bill goes into effect July 24, 2011.
• July 2, 2011: Gov. Lincoln Chafee signs legislation making Rhode Island the fifth state to allow civil unions between same-sex couples.
• September 30, 2011: The U. S. Department of Defense issues guidelines allowing military chaplains to perform same-sex ceremonies.
• January 30, 2012: Legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the state of Washington passes a House committee vote and heads to the Senate.
• Gov. Chris Gregoire is in favor of the bill.
• February 1, 2012: The Washington state Senate passes a bill to legalize same-sex marriage by a vote of 28-21. On February 8, the House approves the measure by a vote of 55-43.
• February 7, 2012: A three-judge panel with the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rules that Proposition 8, the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban, violates the Constitution.
• February 13, 2012: Gregoire signs a law making same-sex marriage is signed into law in Washington state.
• The law will go into effect in June unless opponents halt its implementation by putting it on the November 2012 ballot.
• February 13, 2012: The New Jersey state Senate passes a bill to legalize same-sex marriage by a vote of 24-16.
• February 17, 2012: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoes a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. New Jersey lawmakers have until the legislative session ends in January 2014 to override Christie's veto and would need a two-thirds majority in both houses to succeed.
• February 23, 2012: The Maryland Senate passes a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.
• The bill passed the Maryland House vote earlier in the month, and Gov. Martin O'Malley has promised to sign it into law. The law will go into effect in the summer if it survives a likely court challenge.
• May 8, 2012: North Carolina voters pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, putting a ban that already existed in state law into the state's charter.
• May 9, 2012: Excerpts from an interview with ABC air in which Obama endorses same-sex marriage, the first such statement by a sitting president. He feels that the legal decision should be up to the states to determine.
• May 30, 2012: A lawsuit is filed in Illinois by nine same-sex couples challenging the constitutionality of a state law that denies same-sex couples the right to marry.

References

1. © 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved ( http://www. cnn. com/2012/05/31/us/ff-same-sex-marriage ) Written by: Joe Messerli ( http://www. balancedpolitics. org/same_sex_marriages. htm )
2. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage
3. http://topics. nytimes. com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/same_sex_marriage/index. html

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