Argumentative Essay

Son To
ENG107
Prof. Raack
Normal or Not Normal
As of November 20, 2014, same –sex marriage has been legalized in 35 out of 50 U.S. states. Same-sex marriage is a hot topic which the Supreme Court is considering to legalize. Many people say a homosexual person is a sinner. The question is do homosexual people choose his or her gender? They were born that way and they are happy with their lives. Homosexual people are nothing unlike heterosexual people. They are living, they are working, and they contribute to society. Proponents state that same-sex couples should have access to the same marriage benefits and public acknowledgment enjoyed by heterosexual couples and that prohibiting gay marriage is unconstitutional discrimination. On the other side, opponents argue that altering the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman will further weaken a threatened institution and that legalizing gay marriage is a slippery downhill way that may lead to polygamous and interspecies marriages (gaymarriage.procon.org). All people in the world should understand the meaning of marriage, whether a same-sex marriage or a traditional marriage. For that reason, same-sex marriage should be considered as a legal marriage because it is an equal right for humankind and beneficial for society as well as preventing youth suicide.
Every person deserves to be treated equally, whether homosexual or heterosexual. All people are born in the same way. There is no difference between skin color, gender, wealthy or poverty. So homosexuality is not a disease. They want to live a life like seven billion in the world. They have hearts and they fall in love with a person in the same situation as them. Marriage is a beautiful and meaningful thing when two people are connected by love and care. Is it a big problem if that is a same-sex marriage? According to writer James Kellard, there are some people who get married for money, business agreements, and even health insurance (Kellard). Yet, it is considered a traditional marriage. The review by Kellard is like a shot hitting the antigay lobby who do not understand the meaning of same-sex marriage. As soon as same-sex marriage is legal, there is just a word "marriage” and no more “same-sex”. That means marriage has truly meaning as it is supposed to be and everyone lives happily ever after. However, nothing can guarantee that homosexual and same-sex marriage are treated equally in society and public places. For instances, if a homosexual man gets a same-sex spouse and he applies for a job and the manager is an anti-gay, who knows that he can be evaluated fairly or unfairly by the manager. That’s the reason why David Boies, an attorney and chairman of a New York law firm, believes same-sex marriage is not a liberal or conservative issue, but an issue of enforcing the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. Boies and homosexuals want to make sure there is no discrimination for gay people and same-sex marriage. On the bright side, the Supreme Court has announced that the right to marry the person one loves is so fundamental that states cannot abridge that.
In additional, same-sex marriage might contribute advantages to society. The statistical data refers to one in four women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime and women are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner or husband (safehorizon.org). Around the world, traditional marriages are based on hierarchy, with men having power over women. For example, a woman has to change her last name or move to live with her husband’s family and even into domestic violence. Rebecca Solnit, a writer for Greenhaven Press in San Francisco, points out that allowing same-sex couple to marry will upend these entrenched gender roles, helping to create more equality for everyone. By supporting same-sex marriage, the issue of inequality is reduced in each family; the men have no more power over the women and the number of two million injuries and thirteen hundred deaths caused by domestic violence each year may reduce. More than that, same-sex marriage would make it easier for homosexual couples to adopt children and providing stable homes for them who would otherwise be left in foster care. According to Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, 397,122 children are living without permanent families and 101,666 of these children are eligible for adoption in the U.S. The help for children indeed is more important than to consider which marriage can adopt children. There is no evidence that same-sex parents are not great parents. As mentioned above, if a child lives with parents and domestic violence always occurs, how could we say those parents are good? Great parents or not doesn’t depend on parents gender; it depends on the love for children. A longitudinal study published in Pediatrics on June, 2010, found that children of lesbian mothers were rated higher than children of heterosexual parents in social and academic competence and had fewer social problems (Gartrell and Bos). Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein argues, “We should begging homosexual couples to adopt children. We should see this as a great boon that same-sex marriage could bring to kids who need nothing more than two loving parents” (Klein). If a same-sex couple agrees to adopt a kid who they don’t give birth to, we should support them to do that because many orphans out there are looking for a home with two people that they call parents.
Since same-sex marriage has been legalized, it will reduce teen suicide. The research reveals that teens who self-identify as homosexual are five times more likely than heterosexual to attempt suicide (LifeSiteNews.com). Teens are afraid of their friend’s insult and humiliation. They feel lonely, being in isolation, or even bullied, which is the main cause that leads to 25,000 teens are taken to hospital because of self-inflicted harm. Telegraph Health expert Max Pemberton said, “It seemed shocking that, in the 21st century, teenagers still experienced such conflict and grief because they were gay that that they felt only option was to end their lives” (Pemberton). Same-sex marriage legalization is a lifeguard to teens who have negative ideas. They will feel comfortable; they can go to school and not worry about gossiping about their gender because they know the law is protecting them. The study gathered self-report data from nearly 32,000 grade 11 students in Oregon revealed that 21.5 percent of the homosexual teens surveyed reported suicidal tendencies, while only 4.2 percent of straight teens did the same. We can see clearly the huge different percentage of suicide between homosexual teens and heterosexual teens. It is a hope that new laws will help young people and teens who are struggling to come to term with their sexuality.
On the opposing side of same-sex marriage, people argue same-sex marriage is evil and against nature. They believe the institution of marriage has traditionally been defined as between a man and a woman. They also worry same-sex marriage may lead to more children being raised in same-sex households, which are considered not an optimum environment because they claim children need both mother and father. Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz claim that children without a mother are deprived of the emotional security and unique advices that mothers provide (Stacey and Biblarz). Also, there are several reasons that the antigay lobby points out to discourage same-sex marriage, such as fewer people would marry and freedom of conscience and religious liberty would be threatened. However, people may notice clearly that same-sex marriage is not evil because it is not a felony. It doesn’t harm or cause any damage to anybody. On the contrary, antigay movement involves in teen-suicides and is responsible for this. Involving in a death is a felony. Major same-sex marriage right groups could be asking the question, “Do we have blood on our hands?” There is no blood on their hands and no blood on their marriage. As a result, same-sex marriage is nothing dangerous or harmful and might have same advantages.
In conclusion, we are living in the 21st century with the huge development of technology, especially in social life and knowledge. Same-sex marriage is not a big issue nowadays because it doesn’t cost anything; it doesn’t cause any damage and it doesn’t affect anyone’s personal life. We should support same-sex marriage in order to create a peaceful and equal world. More than that, we can prevent suicide problems in the younger generation, which makes a huge difference for the future. Everyone has the right to choose his or her soul mate and the type of marriage. Nothing can take the meaning of marriage from that person. The bottom line is: same-sex marriage is normal.

Work Cited
Boies, David. "Gay Marriage Is Protected by the US Constitution." Gay Marriage. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Gay Marriage and the Constitution: Why Ted Olson and I Are Working to Overturn California 's Proposition 8." Wall Street Journal 20 July 2009.
Kellard, James. "Gay Marriage Should Be Legal." Gay Marriage. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Do We Have a Constitutional Right to Ban Gay Marriage?" 2011.
Solnit, Rebecca. "Marriage Equality for Same-Sex Couples Would Benefit Everyone." Gender Roles. Ed. Noël Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "More Equal than Others." Financial Times 25 May 2013.

Cited: Boies, David. "Gay Marriage Is Protected by the US Constitution." Gay Marriage. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Gay Marriage and the Constitution: Why Ted Olson and I Are Working to Overturn California 's Proposition 8." Wall Street Journal 20 July 2009. Kellard, James. "Gay Marriage Should Be Legal." Gay Marriage. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Do We Have a Constitutional Right to Ban Gay Marriage?" 2011. Solnit, Rebecca. "Marriage Equality for Same-Sex Couples Would Benefit Everyone." Gender Roles. Ed. Noël Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "More Equal than Others." Financial Times 25 May 2013.