The contentious issue of same-sex marriage has many Americans at odds: should same-sex couples have the legal right under the Constitution to get married? This paper's thesis insists that it should be the right of same-sex couples to get married and enjoy the benefits that come from marriage. There are those who believe that because religions are opposed to same-sex marriage that that point of view should be embraced by the courts in the U.S. However, the courts respond to facts and history, not to the biases of any particular religious faith.
¶ … gay and lesbian individuals should be allowed to legally marry. Same-sex marriage has been made legal in nine states (as of November, 2012). However, "Between 1998 and 2006, twenty-seven states amended their constitutions to prohibit same sex marriage" (Salka, et al., 2012). Clearly this is a contentious issue in America. Thesis: same-sex marriage should be legal in the United States because to continue to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to be legally married is a discriminatory practice which goes against the Constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process in the 5th and 14th Amendments.
Argument: The polling that has taken place over the past year in America clearly shows that the majority of citizens support same-sex marriage. When attitudes change in America in such dramatic fashion as the attitudes have changed regarding same-sex marriage, it makes a powerful statement to the courts. A CBS News poll taken the week of March 25-31, 2013, showed that 53% of American adults now support "legal marriages for same-sex couples" (Kopicki, 2013). In July, 2012, a CBS-New York Times poll showed just 46% in favor of same-sex marriage.
Meanwhile there are many good reasons (beyond public opinion) as to why the concept of "marriage equality" should apply to everyone regardless of gender. Marriage is not just a religious institution -- it is technically a civil institution. Couples don't have to learn catechism or join a particular religious denomination to get married; they can find a justice of the peace or an ordained minister of any faith and conduct a ceremony making them legally wedded -- unless they are gay or lesbian. Hence, the views of religious leaders (Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, et al.) are non-binding on the civil institution of marriage and the High Court should remove the legal barriers and treat all couples equally without discrimination based on gender.
Moreover, same sex marriage should be legal because: a) the "due process" clause of the 5th Amendment (no person shall "…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law") and the 14th Amendment asserts that states shall not deprive citizens of "…life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…"; b) the government accounting office has listed "more than a thousand federal benefits and responsibilities…affected by marital status"; hence, the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law should apply to couples wishing to marry notwithstanding their gender (Shmoop.com); c) in 1974's Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, the U.S. Supreme Court wrote that "…freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause" (ProCon.org); d) denying same-sex couples the right to be legally married presents the children of same-sex couples with an unnecessary second-class citizen stigma; e) recognizing the rights of same-sex couples gives them access to basic rights heterosexual couples enjoy: hospital visitation rights; taxation and inheritance rights; access to health insurance coverage based on family policies, etc.; and f) same-sex marriage will open the door to adoption for gay and lesbian couples; presently there are over 100,000 children waiting to be adopted in the U.S.
Finally, in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Public Health, a study involving 35,608 gay, lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual individuals (by the California Health Interview Survey) revealed that same-sex married couples were "…significantly less distressed than same sex couples that were "…not in a legally recognized relationship" (Wight, et al., 2013).
Counter Thesis and Counter Argument: Thesis: Marriage has traditionally been a contract between a man and a woman, and homosexuals do already enjoy existing rights under same-sex union arrangements in many states; hence, same sex marriage should continue to be banned. Arguments against same sex marriage include: a) gay marriage is not compatible with traditional religious beliefs of 8 powerful religious faiths (including Islam, United Methodist Church, Presbyterians, many evangelicals and Baptists as well); b) raising children should be the task of a man and a woman; c) allowing gays to marry opens the door to "polygamy and polyamory" (procon.org); d) the Supreme Court of Minnesota issued a ruling that the institution of marriage involves "…a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children"; e) homosexual relationships have nothing to do with procreation, which the Bible says is a key reason for man and wife and marriage; d) gay and lesbians already have the rights accorded to civil unions which many institutions recognize; and e) only about 3.4% of the U.S. population is gay or lesbian, so why should this minority force changes on the majority?
Moreover, in a peer-reviewed article in the journal Review of European Studies, college students surveyed "…reported that the child (of homosexual parents) would experience more instability and emotional upheaval…than if the child were reared by a heterosexual couple" (Madrid, et al., 2013).
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