Marriage for Gay Couples

The question of same-sex marriage is one that has been very much in the forefront of public discussion in recent years, with states granting, then withdrawing marriage licenses to gay couples, haggling over legislation as to whether to grant full marriage rights or establish conditions known as domestic partnerships, and trying to come to grips with how to balance differing public opinions on the subject, which are hotly divided in some areas. Some believe that giving gay couples the full benefit of marriage will weaken traditional marriage, while others feel they deserve nothing less. Same-sex couples are denied more than 1,000 federal protections and rights, and most states deny committed same-sex couples hundreds of additional benefits (The Case, 2004). These rights range from the ability to file joint tax returns to the responsibility of making decisions on a partner's behalf in a medical emergency.

My view is that gay couples should be granted full marriage rights just as heterosexual couples are, with all the rights and privileges that go with that institution. I do not believe that this will threaten traditional marriages in any way because there is no reason it should have any effect on them. If people are secure in their marriages and their relationships, these relationships should not be affected by what other people do. There is no justification for denying a same-sex couple the same rights and privileges as a heterosexual couple, e.g. visitation rights,

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the few African Americans at the Seattle gathering, the Rev. Shayne Flowers of All Pilgrims Church, said the issue came down to one's understanding of homosexuality. Flowers is gay and believes being a lesbian is something that is inborn and is not a matter of choice. She says, "I do think of this as a civil rights issue. I didn't wake up one morning and decide to be African American, just as I didn't wake up and decide to be a woman, and I didn't wake up and decide to be gay.." Flowers went on, " When I hear my African American brothers and sisters say otherwise, it's very alienating to me, like I'm choosing to be discriminated against." David Blankenhorn, head of the pro-traditional marriage Institute for American Values contends there is strong evidence that children do much better when raised by married biological parents (Elias, 2004). He believes that supporting gay marriage encourages a "marriage-lite" mentality that pretends unions are a private matter. He says, "The whole social fabric depends on stable marriages, how the next generation is raised depends on it." He fails to take into account the current high divorce rate and the fact that hundreds of thousands of children are being raised in single-parent home

Category: Psychology - M