Gay Marriage Does Not Hurt Traditional Marriage

Currently in the United States there has been much debate over the controversy surrounding the legalization of same-sex marriages. There are many people who are opposed and feel it is morally and ethically wrong and others who feel that same-sex marriages are acceptable. Prior to writing about this topic I had strong feelings against the issue on same-sex marriages. After researching and finding out more information on the topic, I became in favor of allowing those of the same-sex to have there marriages legalized.

Many people ask themselves why gays and lesbians even want to attempt to get laws past to be allowed to get married. Why would they want to be married? Are they not happy with the relationship in which they have? Gays and lesbians are just like heterosexuals, they want there marriages to be recognized by the law. They are like any normal couple and want a marriage to prove and show their love for each other. They want that simple document that the government gives to heterosexuals which binds two people into a marriage. What exactly is marriage then? Marriage is a legal relationship between spouses; it is established by a civil or religious ceremony, and takes place

There are many communities across the nation who have legislated same-sex domestic partner ordinances. Throughout the nineties same-sex marriages were in fact being considered in many states. Gays and lesbians want more than just having their marriages accepted by the law, there are many benefits that marriage allows. They feel that if two people are legally married then they are allowed with there spouse, health insurance benefits, tax exemptions, home ownership, child custody, insurance benefits, medical decisions and much more. Vermont guarantees such rights. These are guaranteed to heterosexuals once they are legally married in a state. Since gay and lesbian marriages are not accepted by the law then there are many rights that are not given to them. Visiting a loved one in the hospital, applying for immigration, social security benefits, death benefits if a life partner dies, joint parenting, adoption, foster care, custody and child visitations are just a few of the rights that are not given to gays and lesbians. The constitution states that "All men are created equal." If this were true then this would not even be a debate, gay and lesbian marriages would be recognized by the law. Gays and lesbians are human beings just like those who are heterosexual. People should not be given rights based on what there sexual orientation is; they should be given rights just for the fact that they are people. The United States is known throughout the world for being free and if this is true then everybody should have equal rights. Sometimes it seems as if we are reverting back in history when interracial marriages were the topic of discussion, people were against interracial marriages because they just didn't understand. Now, people are against same-sex