Same Sex Marriage Should Be Legalized
Throughout the diverse culture of the United States today, many people are beginning to bring up topics that few had even dreamt about discussing twenty years ago. Of these many topics, a very controversial one, is that of same sex marriage. Gay marriage is the legal marriage between two people of the same sex. Today more than ever, more people are beginning to accept it, but many still oppose it as well. Why do people oppose this change so greatly when it doesn't affect them directly in anyway? A few of the many arguments against gay marriage is that it is doesn't abide by what is written in the constitution, and that children shouldn't be raised in a gay household. One point of contention is the true definition of "marriage", and the differences between marriage and civil unions and domestic partnerships. Marriage equality means equality for all, and gay marriage should be legalized in the United States as well as worldwide.
People should never let their just or unjust opinion prevent others from being happy with the persons they love.
One controversial topic regarding gay marriage is just that: marriage. Many anti-gay activists wonder why gay people won't settle with a civil union or a domestic partnership. Lots of people don't realize that these three things are in fact not the same. A legal marriage has many more benefits than civil unions and domestic partnerships. Brian Heaphy, a professor at the University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, defines a civil union in his book, asserting, "[a] civil union is a gay couples alternative by having their relationship legally sanctioned without marriage" (Heaphy 17). After asserting this, he then continues on to argue that a civil union is not an equal alternative to marriage.