Here Comes the Groom: Why Gay Marriage Should Be Legalized

In 1955, Frank Sinatra sang, “love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage. You can’t have one without the other.” Frankie is right. When two people, any two people, are in love, they should be able to openly express their love for each other by getting married. However, not everyone sees it this way. Some think that if gays are allowed to get married, the already weakened institution would become even weaker. Others think that it would be a step towards giving people the ability to have polygamous, incestuous, and bestial marriages. Most simply do not agree with the topic because it is against their personal religious or moral views. These are not viable reasons to deny civil liberties to upstanding members of society. Not only is the ability to marry whichever sex you want a civil right, it would also bring financial gain to state and local governments and would give more homes to children waiting to be adopted. Denying lesbians and gays the right to marriage is against America’s main founding principle of freedom. In the case of Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, the Supreme Court declared that the “freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause.” US District Judge Vaughn Walker also ruled on the subject, writing in August 2010 that Proposition 8 in California was “unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses” (uscourts.gov). Gay marriages can bring financial gain to state and local governments. Marriage licenses, higher income taxes (the “marriage penalty”), and decreases in costs for state benefit programs are all sources of revenue from gay marriage. William C. Thompson Jr. for Comptroller in New York City found that legalizing gay marriage would bring $142 million to the city’s economy and $184 million to the state’s economy over three years (comptroller.nyc.gov). Not only does gay marriage have financial benefits, but it would