Equal right for marriage

Chris Zhu
08/01/13
Essay #3 final draft

Equal right for marriage
The American dream is one of freedom and equality. It’s supposed to be branded in the hearts of every United States citizen however, when it comes to homosexuals, citizens of the United States wake up and the dream is demolished. Same-sex marriage is the most conflicting issue in the currently society. Marriage is basically a private matter and a fundamental human right, so people should have the right to decide with whom they marry, not the state.
In the essay titled “Gay Marriage: Societal Suicide,” Charles Colson talks about his reasons for opposing same-sex marriage. The main argument is built around Colson’s belief that legalizing same-sex marriage would lead to the decoupling of marriage, and ultimately result in what he describes as: “an explosive increase in family collapse, out of wedlock births - and crime.” (P463) It seems like same-sex marriage is the death of family. However, in the other essay “Desecration? Dedication!” written by Anna Quindlen, she argues that gay couples, like career women, are being held to a higher standard than other people and that this is unfair (P461). Although she is not thorough for gay marriage but more for equal right. In comparing gays to naturalized citizens, author is pointing out how natural born citizens take for granted citizenship as well as thier right to get married. Straight people also divorce and crime. Marriage is for love, for responsibility. Gay marriage is just another expression of marriage.
Then, Charles Colson states the extremely opposition in gay couples having children. Among the statistics, Colson lists that: “Boys who grow up without fathers are twice as likely as other boys to end up in prison, and sixty percent of rapists and 72 percent of adolescent murderers never knew or lived with their fathers, and girls raised without a father in the home are five times more likely to become mothers while still adolescents.” (P463) He continues to mention additional studies that illustrate the link between children who come from broken homes and the development of behavioral problems and poor academic performance throughout the child’s lifetime. Anna Quindlen also indicates, “One of the chief arguments opponents have against same-sex marriage is that marriage is designed first and foremost to produce and shelter children. ” (P461) However, she explains that nowadays, more and more people who don't want to have kids, women who are past childbearing age. These all the behaviors from straight people, so having the baby is absolutely not the purpose for marriage. The essay also mentions, “Jonathan Rauch reports that the most recent Census found 28 percent of gay couples had kids. And that's probably an undercount.” (P461) The evidence provided by Colson effectively demonstrates the existence of a direct correlation between criminal activity and broken families, but not only for the gay couple families. Boys and girls who grow up without fathers also happen in the unwed and divorced families. Gay couples have their children or not just as the same as the straight people. People should use healthy eyesight to look all of condition of marriage. If two persons are closed to each other regardless of their gender, they should be allowed to marry with each other. No matter how their families come from, people have absolute no right to treat them differently or put pressure on them. They are just the two people who love each other very much. That's all what it needs to form a family. There is no abnormal marriage. The abnormal just lies in our eyes. Legalizing gay marriage is granting same-sex couples the right to marry and ensure all citizens have equal rights and opportunities.