Equal Right

Equal Treatment in Same-Sex Marriages
In the Language of Arguments the article “Equal Treatment is Real Issue- Not Same-Sex Marriage” talks about how not letting people of the same gender marry effects their rights under the U.S. constitution. Stating,”…every person is entitled to equal treatment under law.” (224) Imagine you want to pronounce your love towards someone of the same-sex through marriage but the government does not allow that. Yes, couples of the same gender can get what they call “Civil Unions” but that still not the same right rights as married men and women get. A Civil Union is “A legal relationship between two people of the same-sex that gives them some of the same rights and responsibilities that married people have.”(Merriam-Webster) Everyone should have the same privileges after all it is our constitutional right. A lot of people have religious purposes on why “gay marriages” should be frowned upon. These people of religion oppose same-sex marriages because “they close the sexual act to the gift of life.’ Meaning homosexuals are non-procreative, they cannot reproduce. If sex without the possibility of creating life is wrong, then people will have to stop masturbation, infertile women shouldn’t be allowed to have sex or elders over the age of seventy years old cannot have intercourse either. Another moral argument would be homosexuality is “unnatural”. Steve Waldman states, “God created man and women with certain complementary capacities, and not to use them as an insult to the Creator.” In the bible it says marriage is between a man and a woman but according to the first amendment the bible has no standing in law. If marriage is a religious practice ordained by god then remove all social benefits of marriage. No more tax credits, legal benefits, community property or rights over the person and their assets. “Not only does the state issue marriage license… it gives married couples privileged treatment under law.”(224) Our nation has laws to protect every citizens rights in our country. To be married is a constitutional right and whether or not two people of the same gender should wed shouldn’t depend on what other people think should be allowed.” In 1868, Congress and the states codified this important ideal into the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment: ‘No State shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This Clause is guaranteed to all persons. Everyone is entitled to their constitutional rights of Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness. Our country was built on the idea of equal treatment for both majority and minority. A civilization that promotes any form of human rights discrimination including discriminating on basis of sexuality cannot hold itself as fair and just. Opposing gay marriages is just another form of prejudice that is still being withheld. Some people say that “Gay” people are not being discriminated against in any way. The argument usually sounds like, gay people are allowed to marry they’re allowed to marry a person of the opposite gender. In response to that argument I refer to the words of Andrew Sullivan, “Would any heterosexual in American believe he had the right to pursue happiness if he could not marry the person he loved?” In American we are granted the right to pursue our happiness. If homosexuals are told they can only marry someone who they are not attracted to or cannot love romantically then we are violating this right.” Prop. 8 denies gays and lesbians the liberty to marry the person of their own choosing…” In same-sex relationships they are allowed to get civil unions. Civil unions do not allow the same rights as a marriage does. A marriage is recognized on a federal level meaning your marriage must be honored by every state. Whereas a civil union is only recognized by the state the Union took place in. Some couples that have civil unions will lose rights while crossing state lines. “For example, couples may or may not have the right to make medical decisions for one another or custody over each other’s children depending on the state in which they created a civil union and the state they are currently in.” (States That Allow Gay Marriage) Gay couples in most states don’t have the option to get married. STAGM states that, “a federal law called the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages even if the state allows it." In a civil union it is harder to get out of the relationship formally and legally as in a marriage you can get easily divorced. If civil unions were permitted and had the same equal rights under law as marriages do homosexuals won’t be discriminated against. Marriage for millions is sacred and if civil unions give gay couples the benefits they are entitled to there would be no reason to seek “marriage equality” unless people want to impose a new definition on an institution that many people view sacred. Although we should not sanction gay marriages, if a church wants to marry a homosexual couple it should be allowed without interference with the state or government. “To millions, marriage is a sacrament and the notion that the state would license or regulate a sacrament ought to be an outrage.” (225) We don’t need to redefine what marriage is but to allow equal treatment under law. There are nine states that allow gay couples to marry. They are Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington. These would be some of the states that prohibit sexual discrimination. Hawaii, Maine and Wisconsin only issue civil unions. But Hawaii has an issue because they refuse to give marriage license to pairs of men and women, while they’re allowing heterosexuals couples to marry. Having to meet a “compelling interest” of the state,
“Only the most compelling interest and the most limited remedy can justify discrimination.” (225) Although a circuit judge had said the state had “failed the test” looking back on previous decisions Hawaii will probably be issuing same-sex license within a year or so. The same problems seen in Hawaii’s case can be the same challenges other states are faced with. They need to figure out ways to avoid discrimination. “The hundreds of employers now extending workplace benefits to unmarried but committed couples and the handful of municipalities offering informal ‘domestic partner’ status may be pointing in the right direction.” (225) Barack Obama states in a speech, "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law -- for if we are truly equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well." (CNN)
Therefore there really isn’t any legal purpose to prohibit Same-sex marriages. The religious objectives of others are not enough to prevent the equal rights of marriage. It is someone’s right under law to pursue happiness with the one they love. The U.S constitution is entitled to equal protection. In my opinion it’s okay for Adam and Eve, Adam and Steve and Amanda and Eve to marry equally with the same benefits.

Work Cited
"Cato At Liberty." Cato Institute. http://www.cato.org/blog/equality-under-law-requires-state-sanctioned-marriage-be-available-same-sex-couples?gclid=CNyEhdm057UCFa9aMgod9wMAIw N.p., 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. >.Works Cited

"Civil UnionAbout Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc.) Are Now Displayed on One Page." http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20union Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.

"Equal Treatment Is Real Issue- Not Same-Sex Marriage." The Language of Arguement. 12th ed. 2008.
Hooper, Simon. "Opinion: Why the Fuss about Gay Marriage?" http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/opinion/opinion-gay-rights-marriage CNN. Cable News Network, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
"It 's Personal." Its Personal. Chicago,IL. http://civilunions.aclu-il.org/?page_id=48 America n Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and the Roger Baldwin Foundation of ACLU, 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

STAGM. http://statesthatallowgaymarriage.com "Civil Union vs Marriage." States That Allow Gay Marriage. N.p., 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

Cited: "Civil UnionAbout Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc.) Are Now Displayed on One Page." http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20union Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. "Equal Treatment Is Real Issue- Not Same-Sex Marriage." The Language of Arguement. 12th ed. 2008. Hooper, Simon. "Opinion: Why the Fuss about Gay Marriage?" http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/opinion/opinion-gay-rights-marriage CNN. Cable News Network, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. "It 's Personal." Its Personal. Chicago,IL. http://civilunions.aclu-il.org/?page_id=48 America n Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and the Roger Baldwin Foundation of ACLU, 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. STAGM. http://statesthatallowgaymarriage.com "Civil Union vs Marriage." States That Allow Gay Marriage. N.p., 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.