Same-Sex Marriage

How many issues do you not agree with your neighbor or friends? There will always going to be controversial issues in the world. Everyone will not agree on how these issues should be approached or what the right side is supposed to be on the distinct issue. Same-sex marriage, which can be defined as marriage between two people of the same sex (“same sex marriage), has been a controversial issue for many years now. In this paper I will explain the opinion of the supporters of same-sex marriage, the opinion of the opposers of same-sex marriage, and my opinion of same-sex marriage. The amount of supporters of same-sex marriage is constantly growing. During the year 2012, we have seen the first every President come out supporting same-sex marriage, which is a major push forward toward gaining legalized marriage. We have also seen same-sex marriage become a major issue in the presidential election. Both Democrats and Republicans chose which side of the same-sex marriage line that the party would belong. The Democrats chose to side with supporting same-sex marriage. The Democratic political party has only joined the growing group of supporters for same-sex marriage. They have joined some Christians, LGBT community, and other countries that have already made same-sex marriage legal. Countries such as Spain, Sweden, South Africa, and Canada have already legalized same-sex marriage (Boies). These countries have supported same-sex couples in a world where many more countries have not. This is a bold move for many of the countries in the world, but it takes a brave group of people to step up in the forefront to fight for something that they believe is right. In the countries, mentioned above, that have legalized same-sex marriage, the only effect of this legalization has been an “increase in human happiness and social stability that comes from permitting people to marry for love” (Boies). If happiness and social stability are the outcomes of legalizing the marriage of same-sex couples then why have more countries allowed same-sex marriage. If more of the United States knew about the effects of legalizing a certain type of marriage, especially during this slump in our economy, then the country would definitely consider seriously passing a law allowing same-sex couples to marry. At this point in time, the United States has had some changes in the way that the Supreme Court has dealt with the idea of same-sex marriage. First the Supreme Court has continually said that “the right to marry the person you love is so fundamental that states cannot abridge it” (Boies). This states that the Court has been changing to a view that every person, no matter his/her sexual preference, has the right to marry whomever he/she might be in love with. By allowing same-sex marriage the “welfare of society, families, and individuals” (Rath) is improved because of the loving relationship that takes place in many marriages, whether it is between a homosexual or heterosexual couple. This effects everyone in the United States, no matter your side of this controversial topic you should be involved in this opinion. For instance, the Supreme Court has decided that every person has the primary right to marry those that he/she might desire to marry (Boies). This right is not only for heterosexual couples, but also includes homosexual couples as well. This can be seen when the Supreme Court ruled in 2003 “that [the] states could not constitutionally outlaw consensual homosexual activity” (Boies). Overall, the idea of legalizing same-sex marriage has been changing not only in the world, but also in the United States. The opposite view of same-sex marriage is opposition against it. There seems to be a decline in the amount of people that have a huge opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage. One of the major opposers of same-sex marriage has been the Christian church. The way that the church tends to define marriage is between a man and a woman (Bort). Marriage by this definition is narrowed down to who can be involved in the process, as well as, who can participate in the act of legal marriage. A more in-depth version of this definition of marriage is one that states marriage is a “union between a husband and a wife oriented to caring for any children they may produce” (Rath). This goes into the fact that marriage is supposed to end in having children. However, does this mean that all marriages that do not have children are wrong? If so, then why would one want to get married. Maybe a better way of looking at this whole idea of same-sex marriage and how the church views it would be to broaden our ideas of what it means to be a family (Ettelbrick). This seems to be more common these days in society. Family can be anyone that you become close to and trust. More and more people are becoming less involved in a biological family than say a work or school family. Nonetheless, the majority of the Christian church still views marriage and family as a man and woman together for life. Another way to see the opposition of same-sex marriage is through the Bible. There are a few verses even come close to mentioning anything about homosexuals or homosexuality. The first verse is found in Hebrews 13:4, which states that “God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” (Holy Bible). This means that God does not agree with the life style that a homosexual has chosen. It also means that God does not wish for people to choose this lifestyle. However, not everyone agrees that homosexuality is a chosen lifestyle. This is something that we will probably not ever fully know, but according to the Bible “homosexuality is ... 'an abomination,' 'unnatural' and 'sin,'” (Harper). If a person of Faith reads the Bible or is at church and is reading or hearing about homosexuality, then one might often hear the words abomination, unnatural, and sinful when describing the lifestyle of those who are interested in the same-sex.
Another Bible verse that refers to homosexuality is located in 1 Timothy 1:10. This verse accompanied with verse nine is a list of who the law is made for including homosexuals, as well as, who is not included in needing the law (Holy Bible). These verses show that the one of the things that is not condoned by God is homosexuality (Harper). Overall, the Christian church tends to have a very narrow view on the lifestyle of those different than what the Bible states is correct; however, the way that the Bible states one should live is not always plainly stated. My opinion of same-sex marriage might be considered a moderate approach to dealing with this issue. Over this past summer, I was reading a book on the civil rights movement for a class and realized that the struggle for same-sex marriage is like the civil rights movement of the the 1960s. The main focal point of this argument was that both have been discriminated against in such a way that it hinders there lifestyles. Another view of mine is that I may not agree with the lifestyle of the people, but I am not here to be the judge of them. I am in no way perfect in the way I live my life so who am I to tell others how to live theirs. The only perfect person that ever lived on earth was Jesus and I am not Him. I may not agree with the way many people live their lives, but I live in a country that is about free expression and rights to choice on how to live ones life. I believe that same-sex couples should have the same rights as different-sex couples. Just because a person chooses to love someone of the same gender does not mean that he/she should be denied the right to having a marriage or being able to join his/her significant others insurance plans. Often times same-sex couples are denied the simple act of seeing a sick partner in the hospital because the couple is not married or blood related family. This is not right and should be changed even before the marriage is legalized. I feel strongly that if someone devotes a significant portion of his/her life to another person in a committed relationship that someone should be considered as much family as if the two had been married. My vision for same-sex marriage over the next thirty years is that it will become legal and accepted in the United States. This will only happen once people decide that they cannot choose the way anyone, but themselves live out their lives. In the next thirty years, I foresee the divide between the supporters and opposers of same-sex marriage becoming more defined. Also, the divide will become wider, either more people will support or oppose the idea. My full thought is that by 2042 same-sex marriage will be legalized and will end up being a normal type of marriage. Even though not all people will agree with this idea for marriage, I think that the legalization of same-sex marriage is going to inevitably happen no matter what a persons individual opinion might constist. In this paper I explained the position of the supporters of same-sex marriage, the position of the opposers of same-sex marriage, and my position on same-sex marriage. Supporters and opposers of same-sex marriage can be found anywhere in the world. Same-sex marriage will be a controversial issue for many years to come. This is simply because most people will not agree on how the issue of same-sex marriage should be approached or what the right side is supposed to be on this issue. What side of the controversial issue of same-sex marriage might you find yourself?

Works Citied
Boies, David. "Gay Marriage and the Constitution." Wall Street Journal: A.13. ProQuest Central. Jul 20 2009. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
Bort, David J. "The Bible and Same-Sex Marriage." Bennington Banner. ProQuest Central. Aug 12 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
Ettelbrick, Paula. "Legal marriage is not the answer." The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide 19.6 (2012): 30+. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.
Harper, Wes. "Don't use the Bible to Support Same-Sex Marriage." The News Herald. ProQuest Central. Nov 20 2008. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.
Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print.
Rath, Beth A. "Debating Same-Sex Marriage." First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life 227 (2012): 63+. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.
"same-sex marriage." © Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. 02 Dec. 2012. .