Gay Marriage for America

Imagine a world where a country, which claims to offer freedom to all it citizens, still

oppresses its people. Even after a civil war was fought in 1861-1865 to free the slaves and even

after women were given the 9th

have been made against them and even to this day these laws have yet to be broken.

Homosexuals are still oppressed by the United States of America which contradicts the rights

given to us in the U.S. constitution by our fore fathers. Given, there have been improvements

over the last 30 years or so, including sexual orientation being added to discrimination laws, and

that gay men and woman are not allowed to be open about their sexual orientation when they

apply for jobs or vote. However, there is one last thing though that drastically alienates this

minority, gay Americans are not allowed to marry each other in certain parts of our “free”

country. How can America be so hypocritical?

As you can tell, I am an advocate for same-sex marriage. Gay Americans should be

allowed to marry their partners and achieve the same benefits as everyone else does. Our

country was founded on religious freedom and escape from the injustice. But, religion does not

have a place in American politics that advocate a separation between church and state. The

benefits for married couples in this country are essential for the American dream. Same-sex

couples deserve to be a part of this dream as well. In all actuality, this is a form of punishing gay

people for being gay in the first place. All throughout nature there are examples of

homosexuality in animals, and it is perfectly natural to be found in humans. whether it be

Christians or homophobics, there is no reason to not allow there Americans the freedoms of

their country.

Basically, laws for gay Americans will never be good enough until the United States

allow same-sex marriage across the country. As of November 2009 there are only nine states

out of fifty-one that will allow and honor a same-sex marriage.(gaylife.about.com) Every state in

this country has gay couples who would like more than anything to become married. President

Obama does not have this on his agenda and probably never will if he holds onto his values. He

believes marriage is between a man and a woman and would like to live it up to the states. He

has made one promise to the homosexual population, which is to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell”

policy in the US Army. This policy is to discourage homosexuality expressed in the military, they

do not ask if a soldier is gay and the soldier will never confess. Right now, the benefits to get

married under the U.S. government are quite numerable, medical benefits to give the spouse

authority over the other, the government benefits for Medicare or social security income, the tax

benefits which reduce taxes, and employment benefits that allow a spouses days to care for a

spouse. All of these, especially in this economy, would be equally as beneficial for a same-sex

marriage as to a opposite-sex marriage. This is an unfair burden placed on homosexuals in the

United States. The rights, or entitlements given to American citizens, have been ripped away

from these people the moment they showed their sexual orientation. Until same-sex marriage is

legalized for the whole country, they will not be treated as equals.

Similarly, Religion has always been the wall between the people and the law. Christian

faith should subside when our political leaders are appointed to implement the countries laws.

When bills for same-sex marriage are rejected, what other excuses could they use besides

saying it is “morally wrong?” There aren’t many things people can use to try to justify denying

rights to homosexuals. One of our founding fathers Thomas Jefferson once said, "Make no

law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,(Library of

congress, Th Jefferson, 1802.)” By having To use the bible or the word of religious leaders

as the basis of their argument, these politicians are showing their lack of credibility and of

substantial evidence.

As well as, the legal benefits of getting married in the United States is a major factor in

many couples decision to do so. If I were to get married, the US governments grant me several

advantages of living in America. From Nolo, legal encyclopedia, tax benefits, estate planning

benefits, government benefits, employment benefits, medical benefits, death benefits, housing

benefits, and consumer benefits. Same-sex marriages that are in legal states cannot receive

these benefits since the US Government does not recognize it as a marriage because it is not a

nations law.

When I was young I heard of a story about a gay couple where one of them was in

the hospital. They have been partners for many years when suddenly illness interrupted their

lives. He was admitted to a hospital and he became worse. His partner was not allowed to see

him since he was neither a spouse or family member. The man died alone in a hospital bed

without a single trace of love in the room. I could not understand what being gay meant, but I

could understand the pain of the man died alone without his loving partner by his side. I would

imagine that if his family did not come to see him, there wasn’t anyone to take his things thus

they were discarded.

During my research, I found there were multiple cases of this happening across

the country. The story of Janice and Lisa, a lesbian couple of Florida, was similar to this

but involved 3 children that they had raised together. Along with medical benefits such as

hospital visits, marriage also brings along a higher rate of financial stability to the couple. Tax

deductibles and government assistance help balance a households income. Employment

benefits guaranty days off if a spouse is sick or able to jointly use employment insurance.(nolo)

How could it be justified to exclude the same-sex couples majority from these opportunities?

Marriage benefits along with love are a fundamental part of getting married in the United States.

Gay Americans deserve this same opportunity.

 Furthermore, homosexuality is not a new concept of this century. There have been

hundreds of documented cases of homosexual couples since humans could put drawing

utensils on a surface. In 12000bc and 5000bc there were cave drawings in Europe of homo

eroticism.(aaronsgayinfo.com, queer facts) Many people view same-sex marriage as unnatural.

When marriage was invented it was a union to combine families under contract with god.

According to the common-law of the bible, this is where it states “marriage is a union between

a man and a woman.” Our country attached benefits to marriages so that couples could thrive

in the modern world. To say gay marriage isn’t natural because they are a couple who cannot

reproduce is like saying a sterile husband or wife is equally unnatural.

Norwegian Natural History Museum of the University of Oslo calculated in over 1500

species on this planet there has be observable cases of homosexuality. Animals such as

dolphins and penguins have had long lasting same-sex partnerships or practice gay sex. This

did not hurt the population nor did it make an irreversible impact on the animals around them.

Petter Boeckman, who is the academic advisor for the "Against Nature's Order?" exhibition

said, "One fundamental premise in social debates has been that homosexuality is unnatural.

This premise is wrong. Homosexuality is both common and highly essential in the lives of a

number of species."(news-medical.net, Oct 2006) The United States has the capabilities to

allow these marriages of same-sex couples, but continue to deny homosexuals are human

being just as heterosexuals.

The majority of those who oppose gay marriage would be Christian Americans.

Since the Christian reformation organized by the catholic church in Europe, gay people were

considered to be sinners because of their pursuit of the same-sex that to reproduce. In the

bible, many use the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as justification that God disapproves

of homosexuality. This is found quite early on in Genesis. Moses also added laws which

addressed homosexuality which Christians related to all gay people. But later, in the New

Testament, Jesus did not mention anything wrong with same-sex couples. In the book of

“Samuel”, David and Jonathan where an open gay couple. They proclaimed their love and even

the bible describes an intimate moment together.(rainbowallowanceofopenfaith.com) American

politics should not be decided on one religious faith though. Our founding father, Thomas

Jefferson, extremely disapproved of churches making laws in their areas of the country. As he

learned from history, I’m sure, a country dominated by Christianity is only to cause chaos.

Same-sex marriage will remain an issue until ignorance end and people become more

educated about the issue. Americans should learn from the mistakes of others throughout

history. Though Christianity is the dominate religion in the United States, it should not be

used to decided thousands of Americans future. Our country made marriage to be more

than a combination of two families to make the next generation. They gave permissions and

opportunities to strictly heterosexuals. We have come a long way from keeping ethnic minorities

to be discriminated against. This view of the supposed abnormalities surrounding homosexuals

has made the United States of America into a hypercritic nation. I would like to see same-sex

marriage legalized for the whole country in my life time. We need gay and straight gay marriage

supports to go directly to the source. We must all pressure state politicians and let them know

that this is not fair.