Avanesova 1

Alina Avanesova

English 1102-037

Ms. Coco

5 Apr 2011

Audience: government

Legalizing Gay Marriage In All Fifty States

When I was in high school, I had a friend that was madly in love with his partner. They

were inseparable. You could tell it was true love when you saw them. There was only one

problem, his partner was another boy. Neither parents approved nor did their classmates and

peers. Everyone thought it was unbearable because gay relationships go against the religious

beliefs that they had been following their entire lives. However, the two boys didn’t care what

everyone thought and they wanted to get married. They lived in North Carolina, where gay

marriage was illegal, so they knew they had to go to a different state where gay marriage was

actually legal. But they couldn’t quite understand why. Why were they denied the right to marry

in North Carolina? Why can’t gay marriage be legal in all of the United States? This

controversial issue has been around for many years now and even though many might not

realize, but gay marriage is very beneficial for the society and the country itself. Due to the fact

that gay marriage can bring financial gain to the governments, give people basic rights such as

hospital visitations, and an easier way to adopt children, gay marriage can actually be valuable to

the society and should be legalized in all states.

Gay marriage, also known as same-sex marriage, can be defined as a union between two

men or two women that can be recognized by the society and by law. It has been around for

many years now. On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay

marriage. Slowly after, a few other states caught on and also legalized same-sex marriage.
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Those states were Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and District of Columbia

(“Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?”). Gay marriage recognition has been one of the most socially

and legally controversial issues for quite a while now and continues to attain high recognition in

today’s society.

Who is to say what is right and wrong for other people? A person has their own mind set

and can make that decision for themselves. It doesn’t seem to be of anyone else’s business if two

men or two women want to get married. People opposing this issue argue that same-sex marriage

goes against the “traditional” form of marriage. But what exactly is the “traditional” marriage

now? America today has grown into a society with different cultures, traditions, races, religions,

and ethnicities. This melting pot has lead to those different ethnicities and religions getting

married together. It isn’t strange to see a Muslim woman marrying a Caucasian man, or an

African American man marrying a Hispanic woman. So if different religions and races can

marry, why can’t people of the same sex? The term “traditional” marriage seems to no longer

exist in the United States. This criteria is important when thinking whether to legalize gay

marriage in all states.

Denying same-sex couples the right to marry makes them feel inferior, and as if they are

doing harm to the society. The government also makes it seem as if it is acceptable to

discriminate against same-sex couples. In an opinion to the Senate, the Massachusetts Supreme

Court wrote “offering civil unions is not an acceptable alternative to gay marriage because it is a

considered choice of language that reflects a demonstrable assigning of same-sex, largely

homosexual, couples to second-class status" (“Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?”). If America

stands for freedom, equality, and justice, why can’t gay people be treated this way just like
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everyone else? This leads to the criteria why same-sex marriage should be legalized in all fifty

states.

One important issue relating with same-sex marriage is that it can bring financial gain to

state and local governments in the United States. Revenue from gay marriage may come from

higher income taxes, marriage licenses, and the decrease in costs for state benefit groups

(“Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?”). Currently, hundreds of companies are noticing the financial

gains that gay marriage can bring, yet the federal government still does not. An article from the

Bloomberg Businessweek states:

“More than half of Fortune 500 companies, in every industry and every region, provide

health insurance and other benefits to same-sex partners of their employees. They know

that this is good business—so why doesn’t the federal government?” (Solmonese).

Statistics from New York City have shown that if the U.S. was to legalize same-sex marriage in

all the states, then it could potentially bring roughly $140 million to the city’s economy and

about $180 million to the state’s economy in just three years. (“Should Gay Marriage Be

Legal?”). This is New York alone, imagine how much revenue the whole country could make if

this proposal was put in forth. It is clearly shown that gay marriage can create many positive

aspects for the government, so why not take the chance and see if it will work?

Another important issue relating with same-sex marriage is that if the whole country

legalized gay marriage, then the rate of adoption will increase. Currently, there are over 500,000

children in foster care, and about 145,000 of those children are available for adoption (“Foster

Care Adoption Facts”). Every child needs a place called home and by giving the right for gay

couples to adopt children, the number of children in foster cares will decrease significantly.

Statistics have shown that “children of lesbian mothers were rated higher than children of
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heterosexual parents in social and academic competence and had fewer social problems”

(“Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?”). If this is the case, then why not allow more same-sex

couples to marry so it can benefit the future of these thousands of children. Even though the law

in North Carolina states that any person over the age of 18 may adopt a child, often at times one

might not adopt a child on their own because taking care of another human being is hard work. It

is mostly common that adoptions occur between a married couple (“North Carolina Adoption

Laws”).
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Works Cited

“Foster Care Adoption Facts.” Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Oct 2009. Web. 30 Mar

2011.

“North Carolina Adoption Laws.” FindLaw. 2011. Web. 3 Apr 2011.

“Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?” ProCon.org. 28 Mar 2011. Web. 30 Mar 2011.

Solmonese, Joe. “Gay Marriage Makes Financial Sense.” Bloomberg Businessweek. Web. 3 Apr

2011.