Should Gays Be Allowed to Marry Essay Example for Free

Should Gays Be Allowed to Marry Essay Marriage: a legally recognized relationship, established by civil or religious ceremony, between two people who intend to live together as sexual and domestic partners. Typically this is between a man and a woman, in love, as they come before their families, to pledge to spend the rest of their lives together. As times continue to evolve around the world so has the idea and laws concerning marriage. Marriage is no longer just about a man and a woman committing themselves to each other for life, it now encompasses, gay and lesbians as well, as they pledge to love, honor, and trust each other all the days of their lives. This argumentative essay will explore logically both sides of the debate on whether gays and lesbians should be extended the same rights of marriage as heterosexuals have. Marriage and Heterosexuals The purpose of marriage has always been to join a man and a woman in matrimony so they can start and raise a family naturally. Marriage has occurred since the beginning of time in every culture. You meet, fall in love, get married and have babies. This belief of the 1950’s style marriage is how many young people see and view how they are supposed to live their adult lives. Marriage is a sacred act that a man and woman shares in front of their families, pledging their unending love for each other promising to cherish and keep only unto them as long as they both shall live. The Catholic Church teaches that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. Catholism teaches us that â€Å"Marriage is a union of male and female that expresses the sexually complementarily willed belief of God for their marriage,† and see the natural structure of human sexuality between a man and a woman saying that they complement each other in expressing conjugal love and transmitting human life. This unique complement is what makes the bond of marriage the core of unity. The concept of marriage as a â€Å"sacred institution† is a modern fallacy. Because marriage is constantly evolving and changing the modern concept of marriage is evolving as well. Marriage is becoming more about commitment and less about creating families. In today’s society more and more married couples are chosing not to start families and are using their union as a committed state as a platform to evolve their career. Marriage and Homosexuals The issues of whether or not one should believe that gays should marry, is a hot controversy across the United States today in political and religious forums. 100 years ago as the human race started drastically changing everything about what we thought that we knew, started to evolve into new territories as well. No longer are we the human species of traditional hunter- gatherers we have evolved into a species of high tech industrialist who want to be able to decide everything.. These changes are not the only one’s taking place. We now find ourselves on the turntable of marriage as well. What actually defines a marriage? Does it have to only be about a male and a female? No longer do we have to stay in marriages when we were miserable, or our spouse is being unfaithful. We have separation and divorce. With all these changes we are now starting to look at accepting same sex marriages, or domestic partnerships, in the same piece of mind. So let’s take a look at what makes up these marriages and partnerships and then you can decide if you really can’t support something that you once didn’t really think you could. Domestic Partnerships Domestic Partnership has been around for years. While some think of domestic partnerships as a man and a woman, others think of domestic partnerships as a homosexual couple, (man and man or woman and woman) living together raising families. The idea that people can co habitat a space, without having a piece of paper from the state saying they are â€Å"MARRIED†, has become popular especially amongst the homosexual community. Once something that was thought to be shamed upon is now considered the norm. With marriage come legal obligations and rights that Domestic Partnership does not offer. In marriage if you decide you no longer want be with your spouse you can separate, and or divorce. When this happens, a judge decides how he or she will divide your property, assets, and they set up custody arrangements. In domestic partnerships there are no legal rights that automatically come when you move in together. Because of legal loop hole, many domestic partners are chosing to draw up legal contracts. These legal contracts say who gets what when it comes to assets, property, children, and in some cases names who gets to say what happens to them in emergencies. These legal contracts are saving millions of domestic partners when their domestic partnership falls apart. Same Sex Marriage Same sex marriage, marriage amongst two people from the same biological sex or gender identity. Same sex marriages can be performed in a secular civil ceremony or in a religious setting are endorsed and practiced by various religious groups around the world. In the United States same-sex couples living in Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington state can now legally decide if they believe that marriage is what they want to enter into. Before consenting into marriage as a same sex couple one must first think about a few issues about how they want to structure they’re union. Having children, jointly owning property, splitting up property, formalities such as taxes or divorce, government benefits, and immigration are things that any couple should think of when they decide to marry. For gays and lesbians these questions require more thought that they would if you are heterosexual. One topic more than others is children. If one partner in the same sex marriage is the parent does the other partner automatically get custody if that partner dies? Some would think yes but not in all cases. For most if one partner has a child they have no legal rights to the child. They therefore must go to court and legally adopt the child. Should homosexuals be allowed to marry? Yes. I believe that with all the changes that our country has went through over the past one hundred years I believe that giving everyone the same rights should include giving homosexuals the right to get married. I do not see why that if you love someone that you should not be allowed to get married. Ethical Issues and Ethical Problems The ethical issues and ethical problems of gays being allowed to marry are principally related to religion and the media. Legally whether or not homosexuals are allowed to marry or not is more of an issue that ethical. In the United States laws concerning whether or not gays should marry has come under ramification recently as Constitutional laws are changing. As homosexuals continue to fight for the same rights as heterosexuals I believe that constitutional laws will continue to overshadow ethical issues. Conclusion With every scrutanty that homosexuals face why do they want the continue to risk everything to get married? Marriage: a legally recognized relationship, established by civil or religious ceremony, between two people who intend to live together as sexual and domestic partners. In this argumentative essay I explored logically both sides of the debate on whether gays and lesbians, and domestic partners, should be extended the same rights of marriage as heterosexuals have. Marriage by definition does not state that it has to be between a man and a woman. It does state that they must live together sexually and domestically. I believe that in this paper I have shown that same sex couples domestically and sexually qualify for this union. I believe that no matter what someone’s gender is they should be allowed to stand in front of God and their families and announce to the world that they love each other and are committing each other for live.