Same-Sex Marriages

Currently in the United States there has been much debate over the controversy surrounding the legalization of same-sex marriages. There are many people who are opposed and feel it is morally and ethically wrong and others who feel that same-sex marriages are acceptable. Prior to writing about this topic I had no strong feelings toward or against the issue on same-sex marriages. After researching and finding out more information on the topic, I became in favor of allowing those of the same-sex to have there marriages legalized.

Many people ask themselves why gays and lesbians even want to attempt to get laws past to be allowed to get married. Why would they want to be married? Are they not happy with the relationship in which they have? Gays and lesbians are just like heterosexuals, they want there marriages to be recognized by the law. They are like any normal couple and want a marriage to prove and show their love for each other. They want that simple document that the government gives to heterosexuals which binds two people into a marriage. What exactly is marriage then? Marriage is a legal relationship between spouses; it is established by a civil or religious ceremony, and takes place between two people who intend to live together as sexual and domestic partners.

The AIDS epidemic stirred up many questions and brought public attention on a range of issues surrounding gay and lesbian rights. Legalizing same-sex marriages may help prevent aids. If two people are in a marriage then they are less apt to have many sexual partners and will help stop the spread of AIDS. Other people feel that same-sex marriages are not a proper place to raise children. This is a truly false statement because there are many people who have children and procreate that should not have that right. For instance, murderers, child molesters, drug and alcohol addicts are all free to procreate and raise children and homosexuals are not. This does not make sense. If a person can raise a child and give them love, shelter, food and other necessary resources to raise a child, then they should be given the right to raise a child. Just because a child has more than one mother or father does not mean that they are going to grow up gay or have emotional problems. They may in fact be a better person because of this. Is it not true that two parents are better to have than one?

There are many communities across the nation who have legislated same-sex domestic partner ordinances. Throughout the nineties same-sex marriages were in fact being considered in many states. Gays and lesbians want more than just having their marriages accepted by the law, there are many benefits that marriage allows. If two people are legally married then they are allowed with there spouse, health insurance benefits, tax exemptions, home ownership, child custody, insurance benefits, medical decisions and much more. Vermont guarantees such rights. These are guaranteed to heterosexuals once they are legally married in a state. Since gay and lesbian marriages are not accepted by the law then there are many rights that are not given to them. Visiting a loved one in the hospital, applying for immigration, social security benefits, death benefits if a life partner dies, joint parenting, adoption, foster care, custody and child visitations are just a few of the rights that are not given to gays and lesbians. The constitution states that "All men are created equal." If this were true then this would not even be a debate, gay and lesbian marriages would be recognized by the law. And yet another stereotypical comment is that if we allow gays and lesbians to marry then this is going to bring to a downfall of all types of marriages across the nation. There are those who feel that by allowing same-sex marriages then the government would eventually allow incest and polygamy. The government knows exactly what they are doing and they would never allow something so extraordinarily wrong as incest or polygamy to take place. They know when to draw the line. Peoples' reasoning behind these statements is the fact that they are scared of what they do not know nor completely understand. The truth is if they had more information and more knowledge on the topic then I think that they may in fact hold a different opinion.

Many peoples' viewpoints on the issue of same-sex marriages have changed over the past few years. Public attitudes about gays and lesbians are growing steadily more tolerant. The fact is that people are in favor of nondiscrimination against gays and lesbians but they