Same-Sex Marriage

July 24, 2012

Governor Jerry Brown c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Jerry Brown,
First of all let me introduce myself, my name is Maria and I am a concerned Salinas, California resident. I have a strong believe that same-sex marriages should be legalized. How would it feel if people were not legally allowed to be with the person they fell in love with? Every year couples of the same sex are denied the right to be married. California as well as the rest of the state should allow same-sex marriage. By not doing so they are being discriminated upon and being denied their constitutional rights, if gays and lesbians were allowed to marry it would bring in financial gain to the state, not only that but it would be much easier for same-sex couples to adopt children.
People should not be denied the right to marry the one they love the state of California does this exactly it banned same sex marriage same-sex marriage is protected by the constitution’s commitments to liberty and equality, therefore it should be allowed. United States District Judge Vaughn Walker wrote on Aug. 4, 2010 that Prop. 8 in California banning same marriage was "unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses” (www.uscourts.gov). The Due process Clause says that people have the choice of who they want to marry and have family with. Walker then states that by not allowing same sex, the state is denying same-sex couples their Constitutional rights. The state should be enforcing it, not denying someone the right that they have already been given. It is not the governments business whether or not two men or two women want to marry each other, people should be allowed to public celebrate their commitment. They should be allowed to walk hand in hand just like heterosexual couples, same-sex couples should have the same rights. Who is the government to decide who can and cannot marry, they don’t know what these couples feel or don’t feel the only business the government has here is to allow same-sex marriage, they should be doing their job and pass a bill that would make same-sex marriage legal.
Not only would sex-same couples benefit from same-sex marriage being legalized but the state would too, it would bring in financial gain to the state and local governments. For example, the Controller for New York City found that legalizing gay marriage would bring $142 million to the city’s economy and $184 million to the state’s economy over three years (www.comptroller.nyc.gov). This statistics are from New York, but imagine how much money California would be getting if the law were passed here. Passing a law that would allow same-sex marriage would boost the state’s economy, the state would no longer have to have budget cuts. All this money would be coming in from marriage license and higher income taxes. This means more money to help out in the different areas that the state is hurting in. Our children’s schools would not be suffering, here in the city of Salinas, we would have our city library’s hours expanded. This would keep our kids a safe place where they can be monitored by adults, instead of being out in the streets, out of all the violence we experience daily. Colleges and Universities would stop getting the budget cuts and hurting students chances of pursuing their education. By passing a same-sex marriage law the State of California and its cities would financial benefit from it a lot.
There are 100,000 children that are waiting to be adopted in the United States, if same-sex marriage would be legalized then these children would be able to be adopted by more parents. It would be much easier for same-sex couples to adopt children, they would now legally be allowed to adopt, and be able to offer a loving home and family to one of these 100,000 children. In fact, in a longitudinal study published in Pediatrics on June 7, 2010 found that children of lesbian mothers were rated higher than children of heterosexual parents in social academic competence and had fewer social problems (Pediatrics 2). Based on this study children are better off with homosexual parents than heterosexual ones. This is rather ironic because people believe children need both a mother and a father, but this is shut down by the Pediatrics study, same-sex couples should have the right to adopt kids. But they are not able to because the couple must be married, however this is not possible either.
Government should not find an excuse as to why homosexuals cannot have the same rights to be married as the rest of the people. People are free to marry who they want to, whether it’s a man who wants to marry a man, or a woman who wants to marry a woman. Who are we to decide, but if same-sex marriage does get legalized in California, not only would discrimination against same-sex couples stop, but the state and un adopted children would gain a lot from it. Today is the time to stand up for what is right and legalize same-sex marriage.
Sincerely,

M, Chavez

Works Cited
Gartrell, Nanette MD, and Henny Bos, PhD, "US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents," Pediatrics, July 7, 2010
Walker, Vaughn JD, Opinion, Perry v. Schwarzenneger, <www.uscourts.gov>, Aug. 4, 2010
William C. Thompson, Jr., "Love Counts: The Economic Benefits of Marriage Equality for New York," <www.comptroller.nyc.gov>, June 2007

Cited: Gartrell, Nanette MD, and Henny Bos, PhD, "US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents," Pediatrics, July 7, 2010 Walker, Vaughn JD, Opinion, Perry v. Schwarzenneger, &lt;www.uscourts.gov&gt;, Aug. 4, 2010 William C. Thompson, Jr., "Love Counts: The Economic Benefits of Marriage Equality for New York," &lt;www.comptroller.nyc.gov&gt;, June 2007