Pros and Cons of Same Sex Marriage
Pros and Cons of Same Sex Marriage
Jasmaine Joseph
April 19, 2013
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. 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.
Jasmaine Joseph
April 19, 2013
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. 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.
References: © 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 ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/same_sex_marriage/index.html