Should same sex marriages be legal?

Question

Why or why not? Don't just say 'yes' or 'no'. State why for either of your answers.

Answer 1

Marriage is an institution created by government so that partners have legal rights and responsibilities.

Folks who are married less than 2 minutes (think Las Vegas weddings) have more legal rights than a gay/lesbian couple who've been together for more than 15 years.

The fact that we cannot be married denies us, and our families, to over 1,138 federal rights, protections and responsibilities automatically granted upon marriage. A few of these are:

- The right to make decisions on a partner's behalf in a medical emergency. Specifically, the states generally provide that spouses automatically assume this right in an emergency. If an individual is unmarried, the legal "next of kin" automatically assumes this right. This means, for example, that a gay man with a life partner of many years may be forced to accept the financial and medical decisions of a sibling or parent with whom he may have a distant or even hostile relationship.

- The right to take up to 12 weeks of leave from work to care for a seriously ill partner or parent of a partner. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 permits individuals to take such leave to care for ill spouses, children and parents but not a partner or a partner's parents.

- The right to petition for same-sex partners to immigrate.

- The right to assume parenting rights and responsibilities when children are brought into a family through birth, adoption, surrogacy or other means. For example, in most states, there is no law providing a noncustodial, nonbiological or nonadoptive parent's right to visit a child - or responsibility to provide financial support for that child - in the event of a breakup.

- The right to share equitably all jointly held property and debt in the event of a breakup, since there are no laws that cover the dissolution of domestic partnerships.

- Family-related Social security benefits, income and estate tax benefits, disability benefits, family-related military and veterans benefits and other important benefits.

- The right to inherit property from a partner in the absence of a will.

- The right to purchase continued health coverage for a domestic partner after the loss of a job.

And there are many more! A dear friend of mine lost his partner after 15 years. My friend was the primary breadwinner and paid for his partner's life insurance and some income property. When his partner died, and he inherited it, he had to pay taxes, whereas a married couple would not. Why?

The argument that marriage is for procreation is hogwash. One does not need to be married to have children. If that argument is held up, then why allow folks past child-bearing age to marry? Or those who are impotent or sterile?

The majority of hippocrites claim that gay marriage would erode the "institution of marriage." Unlike those marriages that last about a week and are disolved.

If that was their true belief, then why not outlaw divorce? Because they want, and need, an out.

Whether or not you want to be married is your choice. But do not deny me a choice -- with rights, responsibilities and benefits -- because my family does not resemble yours.

If you don't want a gay marriage, don't have one.

Answer 2

Church has been disjointed from government, or so they would have you believe. Then the question of what is right and wrong comes up, and we look to religion for answers? But are we not accepting to all religions? Even the agnostic? Is this not a democracy?

Same sex marriage should be no more legal than any other type of marriage. The legal ramifications of signing the paper that allows the law to see you as a couple, is just a piece of paper. But the Laws that bind it allow one man to be with his wife in a hospital at times of extreme stress, shall we deprive another man that same right? This law allows children of one to be protected and adopted by the other, shall we deprive children of this protection simply because we don't approve of who they are living with?

Lets make a new law.. Lets say that from now on, we don't make laws that limits rights, and cause segregation, but laws that improve society, and welcome change...

Answer 3

Because in a country in which it's legal tender proudly proclaims "New Secular Order" beside the "In God We Trust" there is an obvious plurality of the religious and the secular.

Unfortunately for many Christians, this is not a theocratic government, but a democratic one, in which religious beliefs are permitted rather than enforced. To enforce the morals of a religious organization upon a people who do not believe is contrary to what our founding fathers and our founding documents, including the Constitution, intended.

Some things that the religious may not agree with may happen, but non-believers have been putting up with theocracy mongers for far longer. We were intended to be, and should remain a very plural society, with equality and justice for all, not just Christians. The majority religion ought'nt be permitted to lord it over all simply because they have a greater number. This is the same war we're fighting in the Middle-East (just or otherwise).

In prohibiting gay and Lesbian marriage, we're simply saying that these people aren't human enough for human rights.

Answer 4

Yes they should be legal
marriage is about a commitment that two people make to love and take care of each other.

Marriage is a contract with the state that two people make to support each other.

What people don't seem to get is that in this country the act of doing vows in a church is not marriage, that is a religious ceremony to consecrate the marriage before what ever God the couple worships. That is why folks can get married by a justice of the peace, a mayor, a judge, a ship captain and a host of other people who are not clergy.

Answer 5

It should be legal.

Why? Denying legal recognition of same sex marriage on strictly religious grounds is actually a repression of the religious freedom of other faiths. It basically says that if your religion allows for this type of arrangement (and some actually do!) then the Government will not recognize your beliefs. And unlike other false parallels the anti-gay community likes to make, there aren't other plausible reasons to justify that form of discrimination.

Answer 6

Yes.
Religious views should be respected within the confines of their system, if in their religious opinion Same-sex marriages are wrong, then they should not marry the same-sex.
There is not one single law in existence that requires procreation in order to validate a marriage. Not one single couple has ever been denied a marriage license because they knew they couldn't have or didn't want to have children. Not one person has ever been jailed for having a child out of wedlock(at least in recent history).

Answer 7

Yes, because it's not only the right thing to do, it's the law... read the 14th amendment... our motto is "United We Stand" but how can we stand united when gays and lesbians still don't have the right to marry? Doesn't that seem a little like the government seeing us as below the rest of society? I mean, we can't marry, we can't serve in the military (Unless we can hide our sexuality REEEAAALLLLLYYY well), and we're not even allowed to give blood... where's the equality?

Answer 8

Yes!
All marriages should be legal, if it is between 2 consenting adults, then yes!!!!

If you love someone and they are of the same sex then go for it! It will only be a matter of time before it IS legal.

Not so long ago it would have been illegal for me to marry a black man, not so anymore.

It's time is coming, we just have to fight for it and wait, like all other injustices that have been righted, it takes time.

Now I will step down from my soap box, thanks for reading!

Answer 9

Yes!
A marriage is a symbol of commitment. Unfortunately, in this country, because the gay version (outside of Massachusetts) of a civil union is either not legal or not recognized by governments, so we are not allowed the same benefits as same-sex couples are offered, including health/dental benefits for our partners, taxation benefits, even the right of making choices for our partner in case of catastrophic illness.

Answer 10

Do you in basic terms desire the wedding ceremony ceremony, or do you desire the criminal prestige of being married? Many, many gays and lesbians have had "dedication ceremonies" over the an prolonged time. it is particularly like a marriage, different than that it does not have the criminal prestige of marriage. You and your female pal gown up, have a occasion, have somebody officiate, and do all the different wedding ceremony stuff. you do no longer prepare for a marriage license, because it won't get carry of to you. i do no longer advise gender reassignment surgical treatment till certainly one of you unquestionably IS a transman. in case you desire the criminal prestige and the regulation says "a marriage shall encompass 1 guy and one lady" or something like that, then i'm sorry, there is not any criminal thank you to do it. regardless of in case you get carry of legally married able the place comparable intercourse marriage is criminal, places that don't enable SSMs many times do no longer know SSMs from different places.