Legal Gay Marriage

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Shinaris Redmond

Dr. Lin Knutson

English 102

October 26, 2015

Legal Gay Marriage

There were two homosexual men named John Kite and Jimmy Butler. They had been in a serious relationship for about 10 years. They decided that they wanted to get married. They went to get married and were denied their marriage licenses. They tried to sue the court for not allowing them to marry. They failed miserably at their lawsuit. They were not allowed to get married.

We allow murderers, rapists, child abusers, dead beat dads, HIV infected people, and transsexuals to marry. Why did we deprive homosexuals to marry? Denying gays is a violation of religious freedom and minority discrimination. Gay marriage encourages people to have strong family values and constitute a good based family as well as giving up high-risks sexual lifestyles, and homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle nowadays with most evidence proving biological causation. Legalizing Gay marriage has bought a new trend which provides the arguments on why we should support gay marriage.

Denying gays is a violation of religious freedom and minority discrimination. All major religions consider homosexuality a sin. Homosexuality is not a sin because it does not state anything in the Bible about gays. First Amendment of the Constitution clearly states that a

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person’s religious views must be protected. Majority should rule, but minorities should be protected. Democracy is governed by the principle, majority rule. Yet, majority rule cannot be the only expression of Supreme power in a democracy. Marriage by state is a secular rule; the government cannot start making laws just because a religion says they should.

It encourages people to have strong family values and constitute a good based family as well as giving up high-risks sexual lifestyles. Gay households can be just as loving and supportive an environment for raising children as the straight kind. Human sexual choice is both unchangeable and cannot be chosen and sexual orientation does not respond to social influences designed to lead it into a different direction. Marriage encourages people to settle down and give up that type of lifestyle. Married people commit themselves to one partner and work to build a life together and so do the gay couples.

Homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle nowadays with most evidence proving biological causation. An overwhelming amount of research has been done showing that homosexuality has a biological causation; not a genetic one. Secondary sexual characteristics resemble the opposite sex. Homosexual males often have softer voices Lesbians may have strong cheekbones and a more masculine body shape. It’s all affected by those hormone switches.

My most reliable source to get background from was ProCon.org. This was the most reliable source because it gives a timeline from when gay marriage started to when it ended. Gay marriage discrimination began on May 18, 1970, in Minnesota. Richard Baker and James McConnell applied to Hennepin County District Court clerk Gerald Nelson for a marriage

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license, but he denied their application (“Gay Marriage Timeline”). The first legal gay marriage was on May 17, 2004 in Cambridge. America's first gay marriage by law took place when Tanya McCloskey and Marcia Kadish exchanged vows at the Cambridge City Hall (“Gay Marriage Timeline”). The US Supreme Court made gay marriage legal in all 50 states on June 26, 2015. The Supreme Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage (“Gay Marriage Timeline”). The 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, his fourth major gay-rights ruling over two decades, struck down restrictions in force in 13 states and means all 50 states must recognize same-sex unions (“Supreme Court Rules”). Justice kennedy states, "The Court, in this decision, holds same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry in all States (“50 States with Legal”)." The Episcopal Church voted to allow same-sex weddings on July 1, 2015. The vote came in Salt Lake City at the Episcopal General Convention, days after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide (“Gay Marriage Timeline”). As you can tell, there was a long process before gay marriage completely ended. Gay marriage has been a big issue in the last years and ended during President’s Obama’s presidency.

Most people believe that they deserve the rights they are granted by the government. President Jimmy Carter states “I believe Jesus would. I don't have any verse in scripture.