Sexual Orientation - Essay Example

Sexual Orientation One of the most controversial topics in this day and age is homosexuality, whose prevalence and legal rights have been brought into question. While some people believe that homosexual couples deserve the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples, there are still those that feel marriage, and all associated rights and benefits, should be reserved for heterosexual couples. This is due to the belief that marriage is an institution that can only be accomplished between a man and a woman as procreation is often involved.

However, by denying homosexual couples the chance to marry and start a family of their own, they are being denied their legal, equal rights. The legal rights of homosexual couples is often the first subject touched upon in the argument for the legalization of gay marriage. The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution declares that states are prohibited from altering the privileges and rights of American citizens, including marriage (Walzer 56). When individual states attempt to make gay marriage illegal, they go against this amendment; these states deny rights based on sexual orientation, which is prohibited by the Constitution.

As such, many states have offered homosexual couples the opportunity to join in civil unions, legal bindings that are similar to marriage, though they often do not come with the same perks, such as adoption or aspects pertaining to financial security. According to people that are against gay marriage, the institution of marriage can only be between a man and a woman. Most people back this up with religions and biblical scriptures, claiming that it simply is not right for a same-sex couple to be romantically involved with each other (Fejes 217).

Due to this, it is considered to be a sin for a homosexual couple to exist, let alone for the couple to become married. However, those in favor of gay marriage have made it known that religious people can believe what they want to, but religion has no place in matters that involve the law and civil rights of others. Religion aside, from a legal standpoint, the Constitution allows gay couples to marry. It stops being an issue of whether or not homosexuality is right or wrong and becomes an issue of rights violations.

If two homosexuals love each other, they have the same right that heterosexual couples, religious or not, do to become married. Their love is no different, and they deserve the same chance to display their love through marriage. Another concern surrounding gay marriage is parenting. Many states prohibit gay couples from adopting, but there are still other states that allow it; quite a few lesbian couples turn to artificial insemination when they want to begin their own family. The reason that parenting is an issue is due to the fact that it is believed that a child should only grow up in a household with parents of opposite genders as this displays the ideal couple, otherwise the children may become confused about sexual orientation (Nava 22).

Gay couples, and those in favor of gay marriage, feel that gender should not be an issue when raising children, just as long as the parents are able to love and support their child. A supporting argument is that not every family containing children consists of a mother and a father. Many children live in single parent homes, and there are children that live with a mother and a grandmother, or an aunt or an uncle. There is no correct family structure. It all comes down to how the child is cared for by the people they look up to as guardians or parents.

Homosexuality has been a taboo subject for many centuries, but it has become even more controversial as more people have become open to the idea of gay couples marrying and obtaining the same rights and benefits as heterosexual couples. Though gay couples have been denied their rights for many years, the existence of the promising Fourteenth Amendment is helping to bring about the changes that the gay community long for. Due to this amendment, gay couples are finding it easier to become legally bound to their partner and to start families of their own.

By allowing gay couples to access these rights, America is holding fast to its reputation of being the land of equal rights and opportunities. Works Cited Fejes, Fred. Gay Rights and Moral Panic. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print. Nava, Michael. Created Equal: Why Gay Rights Matter to America. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. Print. Walzer, Lee. Gay Rights on Trial. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Print.