Crystal Gillespie – Final Paper

Philosophy 221 – Tracy Greenwood

Should homosexuals have the legal right to marry and enjoy the same
benefits as other married couples?

The Declaration of Independence clearly states “that all men are created equal”

[ CITATION Dec76 \l 1033 ]. Amendment 14 in the United States Constitution states that

“no state shall deprive any person of life…” [ CITATION Uni87 \l 1033 ]. The Declaration

of Independence also says that all men have certain rights that cannot be taken

away from them; these rights include the “pursuit of happiness” [ CITATION Dec76 \l

1033 ]. We have prevailed over so many things in the past, such as segregation and

women’s rights, so why can’t we prevail over homosexual marriage? Everyone in life

deserves to be happy, no matter whom they are. Homosexuals are just the same as

anyone else and they deserve the right to marry who they want.

Homosexuality is not something that you can choose, it just happens as a part of

life. You cannot control who you are attracted to in life. “In the book,

Homosexuality, Birth Order, and Evolution: Toward an Equilibrium Reproductive

Economics of Homosexuality, Edward M. Miller suggests that the birth order effect

on homosexuality may be a by-product of an evolved, biological mechanism that

shifts personality away from heterosexuality in later born sons” [ CITATION Wik10 \l 1033

]. Marriage is a sacred thing and is usually done when two people, no matter their

sex, are deeply in love and are happy with each other. The sex of the two people

that want to get married should not matter because, as stated above, everyone
deserves to be happy in life. In August of 1987, a lesbian minister in New

Hampshire was suspended from her church because she supposedly violated a rule

of the church which prohibited homosexuals from practicing, or being, on the clergy.

There have been many incidents, reported or not, of people not getting jobs just

because they happen to be homosexual, or even getting fired after they “come out of

the closet”. Homosexuals are not any different than anyone else in this world, they

live, they love and they die, just like everyone else. So why are they treated so

differently? In some places, they are not treated any differently than anyone else.

Canada legalized same-sex marriages in 2005 and is by far the most progressive

country in granting equal rights to their homosexual residents. “According to the

2006 Canadian Census – the only time the government has collected data

specifically counting same-sex married couples – there were nearly 15,000 married

homosexuals in the country” [ CITATION Tay10 \l 1033 ].

Homosexuality is normal; it is not some type of nasty disease like some people

like to think. It also is not some weird stage that people go through and it is definitely

nothing to discriminate against. As the bible states in Matthew 19:6, “Wherefore

they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let

not man put asunder”. Love is unconditional and love makes a family, not the sex of

the partners. Everyone has the right to love whomever they please, but everyone

also has the right to be treated equally. Homosexuals should not be treated

differently just because of their lifestyle, to them it is not a choice, but a way of living,

and a way of living happily. Celebrities can be openly homosexual and not get

treated any differently, so why can’t average homosexual Americans be treated the
same as any other average American. Celebrity homosexuals should not get any

special treatment, especially when it comes to being treated a certain way in the

LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite) community. Homosexuality should not

be pushed aside or avoided; it is part of everyone’s lives. Homosexuality has come

a long way since the very first homosexual “came out of the closet” many years ago

and it still has a long way to go. It is part of our future and homosexuals are part of

our world, whether you like it or not, so they should have the same rights as anyone

else has. We should not just tolerate homosexuals but instead embrace them as if

they were anyone else, because again, they are no different than anyone else.

Homosexuals live their lives just like any straight person would, other than the fact

that they sleep with someone of the same sex. Homosexuality should not be

another “identity” to someone. We may be American, Hispanic, male, female or

whatever, but homosexuality should not have to be another one of someone’s life-

long identity.

Marriage is a legal and official bond between two people in love; a happy time

praised among many other people, and loved by almost all people of the world. But

when these two people in love are the same sex, it is not praised upon. Why?

Marriage shouldn’t be judged by the gender of the two people in love; love is love

without any boundaries to withhold it including gender. Many years ago

homosexuality was considered to be a sin and was even illegal but we have come a

long way since then. Nowadays, people are somewhat more supportive of the fact

of homosexual marriage. As I mentioned earlier, in Canada almost all the provinces

are for homosexual marriage and it is legal and some of the United States are
attempting to make it legal. In 2009 there were six states that legalized homosexual

marriage. Marriage is a right for everyone; it is a right for humans, not a privilege for

heterosexuals. People should not be able to judge loves boundaries and there is no

reason, or excuse, to show hatred toward anyone including homosexuals. Once

again, everyone has the right to love whomever they choose and should not be

punished for that. The true definition of the word marriage is explained as being “a

legally recognized relationship, established by a civil or religious ceremony, between

two people who intend to live together as sexual and domestic partners” [ CITATION

Bin10 \l 1033 ], nowhere in that definition does it say anything about the potential of

life-generation, or having children; which is the argument for most people against

homosexual marriage including the President of the Center for Public Justice. In his

Capital Commentary, James Skillen, the President of the Center for Public Justice,

states that “…marriage should continue to be recognized, as it has been for

centuries, as an enduring, covenant bond of love between a man and a woman that

legitimately bounds sexual intercourse and the consequences of procreation”

[ CITATION Mar10 \l 1033 ]. He also states that “Homosexual relationships do not entail

sexual intercourse and do not have the potential for life-generation. Consequently,

such relationships do not constitute marriage and cannot give rise to families

through procreation.” [ CITATION Mar10 \l 1033 ]. No one should be able to tell anyone

what constitutes a marriage. As the definition states above; marriage has nothing to

do with reproducing, it is about love, and it is about two people who want to be in a

relationship with each other.

 So in conclusion, homosexuals are just like anyone else, they live their lives just

like the rest of us, other than that one simple fact of them sleeping with someone of

the same sex. That one little fact should not stop homosexuals from receiving the

same rights and privileges as everyone else in this world. Homosexuality is part of

our world and always will be, whether you like it or not, so deal with it and let them

have the right to marry the one that they love.

Works Cited
Bing Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2010, from Bing: http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?
q=define+marriage&FORM=DTPDIA&qpvt=definition+of+marriage

Declaration of Independence. (1776, July 4).

Holt, T. (2008, August 14). ProQuest. Retrieved August 14, 2010, from ProQuest:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
did=1646129211&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=49285&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Skillen, J. W. (2003, October 20). Marriage and Homosexual Rights. Retrieved August 15, 2010, from
Center for Public Justice: http://www.cpjustice.org/stories/storyreader%241114

United States Constitution. (1787, May 14).

Wikipedia. (2010, July 22). Retrieved August 14, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_order