Gay Marriage in the States of the USA - Essay Example

Teacher Legalizing gay marriage Gay marriage or same-sex marriage should be legalized in all of the s of the USA. At present, there are already 33 states that have legalize gay marriages and 17 states that still ban same sex marriage. The matrimony of marriage should not discriminate people on who should they love. Marriage is an institution of love and harmony that binds people on the basis of love and not on the basis of their sexual orientation and therefore should be legalized. American society would also benefit more on if gay marriages will be legalized on all states. Of the 33 states that legalized gay marriage, 22 states have their same sex marriage legalized by court decision. Eight other states legislated gay marriages as legal while three states (Maine (Dec. 29, 2012), Maryland (Jan. 1, 2013), Washington (Dec. 9, 2012)) legalized marriage by popular vote. Unfortunately, there are still 17 states that ban same sex marriage and these include the states of “Alabama (2006, 1998), Arkansas (2004, 1997), Florida (2008, 1997), Georgia (2004, 1996), Kentucky (2004, 1998), Louisiana (2004, 1999), Michigan (2004, 1996), Mississippi (2004, 1997), Missouri (2004, 1996), Montana (2004, 1997), North Dakota (2004, 1997), Ohio (2004, 2004), South Carolina (2006, 1996), South Dakota (2006, 1996), Tennessee (2006, 1996), Texas (2005, 1997) and Nebraska” (www.gaymarriage.procon.org) which means that there are still 13 states that needs to work on about the legality of same sex marriage. One of the main reason why gay marriages should be legalized in all of the states of United States I because United States as a country is founded on the principles of equality and liberty and gay marriage is consistent to the demand of equality and liberty. This equality meant not only having equal rights and equal opportunities but also on the right to be who they want to be and who they want to love. Liberty meant not only being free from the shackles of a master but also liberty from discrimination of not being able to marry just because of sex orientation. It also meant the freedom to choose whom to love without encumbrance of the law. In a way, this is a right to equal accessibility to law to have the same legal contract of marriage that binds couple just like the straight couples. It is also worth mentioning that it is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness“ (Declaration of Independence). Gay marriage is a “pursuit of happiness” and part of this pursuit of happiness is to be with the people whom we love to be with. Nowhere in its provision did the Declaration of Independence stated an exemption that gay people are excluded to the right to pursue their own happiness. This means that this provision is universal and applies to all, gay or straight, as long as one does not commit crime or trample on another’s right in ones pursuit to happiness. Gay marriages should be legalized in all states because it is founded on the same ground as any heterosexual marriage which is love. The basis of marriage after all is love and not heterosexuality. People marry because they love a person and would like to grow old with that person and would like to spend the rest of their lives together. People marry because they wanted to have a family with the person that they love. The person that they love does not have to be straight because again, the basis of family is love. True, gay couples cannot have a children of their own but there are a lot of alternatives to it. Gay couples can adopt, or have an artificial insemination as means to have a child. Better if they adopt because there are a lot of abandoned children not only in the United States but elsewhere in the world. All they have to do is visit a foster homes. Again, when we love and have a child, this does not have to come from our own genes or by virtue of birth. Gay couples have choices to become a family by adopting. So the inability to bear a child by gay couples should not be made an excuse to deprive them of marriage and therefore gay marriages should be legalized in all states. Allowing gay marriages is also more beneficial to society from a practical point of view. If we allow gay couples to marry, they would become happier individuals. When they are married, gay couples are more productive because they are inspired to work. As a couple, they too would like to have children. So they would adopt children to complete their own family. This is a win-win situation because an incomplete couple is now completed by a child. The child on the other hand is no longer abandoned nor have to stay in a foster home. He or she has now a family, parents who would take good care of her or him. No one gets hurt or disadvantaged in this situation. All parties become happy and benefited from gay marriage. So why disallow gay marriages? This benefit of allowing gay marriages even extends to improving the economy. In addition to making gay couples happy and lessen the number of children in foster homes by virtue of adoption of gay couples, legalizing same sex or gay marriages can even boost the economy. Jillian Berman cited eight ways how same sex marriages can benefit the economy and these are (Berman); 1. It would help curb the deficit 2. It would boost tax revenues 3. It helped New York City’s economy 4. It would alleviate payroll headaches for many businesses 5. It can boost struggling state economies 6. It will cut spending on government safety net programs 7. More weddings mean more money 8. Lots of major corporations think its a good idea It means that legalizing gay marriages is not only good for our heart but also good for our economic well-being. The benefits of allowing same sex marriage is numerous while there is almost no disadvantage to it and the only thing that prevents its full legality is prejudice and discrimination. Works Cited Berman, Jillian. "8 Ways Legalizing Same Sex Marriage Is Good For The Economy."The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 May 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. . "33 States with Legal Gay Marriage and 17 States with Same-Sex Marriage Bans - Gay Marriage - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. . "The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. Read More