The question of legalizing gay marriage is actual and affects almost all world countries. It is the part of discrimination against sexual minorities, which has been taking place in our world for a very long time. The issue is controversial, and it is argued on civil as well as political levels. There are many supporters and opponents among stars, political leaders, public figures and citizens of world’s countries. While some states have already legalized same-sex marriages and support gay people’s rights actively, there still are plenty of countries, where the conditions for them are unfavorable. Although the situation among ordinary people differs, most heterosexual people support the idea of homosexual marriage. They assume that gay people deserve the same rights as straight ones (pewforum.org). In the US, 55-60% of citizens think that gay marriages should be legalized. Recently, the situation in the world has been changing, though there still are people opposed to the idea of same-sex marriages. When it comes to my opinion, I strongly believe that same-sex marriages should be allowed all over the world. There are several substantiated arguments to prove my position, but firstly some historical background should be provided.
On 26 June, 2015, the US Supreme Court resolved that gay marriage is a legal right in all 50 states, which was the greatest achievement of gay right movement (infoplease.com). However, its background in America was a long and thorny path. In 1969, The Stonewall Riots changed the gay right movement into political one. Before that, it focused on questions of personal liberty (infoplease.com). Although the members of the movement have not achieved their main purpose until 2015, they attained perceptible progress. For instance, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the official list of mental disorders (infoplease.com). In 1975, the American Psychological Association did the same (procon.org). Vermont became the first state to legalize marriage between gay couples in 2000. Same-sex marriages were legalized in 35 states from 2004 till 2014 (infoplease.com). However, the movement faced a lot of obstacles on its way to success. The opponents of gay rights became more active during the 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic occurred. In 1996, Bill Clinton signed Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman, banning same-sex matrimonies. The majority of voters in some states still refused to approve legalization of gay marriages until 2015.
In the world, the situation still varies. Most European countries, such as England, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Spain, Norway and others have officially allowed gay couples to marry. South Africa, Uruguay, Brazil, New Zealand and Argentina also legalized same-sex marriages. Nevertheless, there are countries where homosexuality is illegal. They are mostly situated in Africa and Asia. In Europe, such countries as Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and Lithuania have laws against homosexual marriage (76crimes.com)
There are some reasonable arguments for legalizing gay marriages. Firstly, the definition of marriage as a union between man and woman is historically untrue. Marriages among same-sex couples are believed to have taken place in some countries in 13th century (procon.org). Probably, the most significant argument is that marriage is a human right for all people in the world. Denying people to marry is direct discrimination of their basic civil rights. Everybody should have an opportunity to marry their loved ones and create a family. If a country has its constitution, which claims legal equality, then it has to provide its citizens with these rights. Same-sex couples should have an access to the same social benefits as heterosexual couples have. For example, they ought to be allowed to visit their spouses in hospital or be granted with health insurance. If a homosexual couple splits up, they should be able to equally divide their property or manage the child custody. Moreover, gay marriages can bring financial profit to government due to the income from marriage licenses and taxes. Legalizing homosexual matrimonies can even boost the economy of a state (procon.org).
Gay marriage legalization can provide some social benefits. It is proven by University of Melbourne that children raised by same-sex couples have higher score of general health and family welfare (procon.org). They also make more progress in studying and have less social problems. But if the homosexual couple is not married, children experience humiliation, let alone the fact that they cannot be sure of receiving support from their parents. Also, the problem of inheritance appears, especially when a parent dies without living a will. Nevertheless, gay marriages are rated with lower rates of divorce than heterosexual couples are (procon.org). Different-sex marriages tend to break more often, while relationships between same-sex couples are more stable (procon.org). In addition, as gay couples are not able to have their biological children, they consider adoption to be one of the best options. Therefore, many orphans or abandoned kids will be able to live and grow up in a loving family.
Nonetheless, the opposition to legalizing gay marriages also has some considerable arguments. One of the most widespread opinion refers to the Bible, which states that homosexual relationships are abomination. Some other churches are strongly opposed to same-sex marriages, too. For instance, Catholic Church, Baptist Church, the Orthodox Union, Jewish and Islamic groups and others. Pope Benedict claimed that gay marriage threatens the future of humanity (procon.org). Furthermore, opponents consider same-sex unions to be unnatural and immoral. They base their beliefs on the fact that the humanity species was created as heterosexual by nature. Therefore, one more persuasion appears. Marriage is for reproduction, and since same-sex couples are not able to produce and raise children, they should not be allowed to marry (procon.org). Additionally, children need both father and mother in order to avoid difficulties in their lives, such as early sexual activity, teenage pregnancy or lack of emotional security (procon.org).
The downsides of legalizing gay marriages also exist on a more global level. People, who do not support the idea of legal homosexual relationships, still will have to pay taxes on benefits provided for such couples as a part of general taxes on social benefits. Legalizing gay marriages would create loss for government. In addition, gays have had an access to domestic partnership with some benefits. Legalized marriage would mean ceasing of the development of these benefits, as it would be more logical to focus on benefits for spouses. Still, it is not necessary for a same-sex couple to marry if they want to enjoy some privileges. Domestic partners are able to inherit each one’s property without will, or to get some health security benefits. What is more, if gay marriages will be allowed, the next step might be the inquiry on validating marriages between a few people or even adults and teenagers, if not to think of something worse. It is worth mentioning that gays nowadays have their own culture, which they have been developing for decades. However, legalization of marriages will decrease the differences between homosexual and heterosexual cultures. It means that the uniqueness of gay culture will fall into decay.
Despite the fact that these arguments are reasonable for people who are opposed to the idea of legalized same-sex marriages, they still can be disproved. To start with, churches can reject gay unions, but they are not able to dictate laws for society in general (procon.org). As in many countries both civil and religious marriages are permitted, it is wrong to state that the ability to marry can be determined by affiliation with some religion. Also, many religious leaders support gay marriage as they state that God is where love is (procon.org). Regarding the idea of reproduction as the main purpose of marriage, it is a commonly known fact that not all married couples are able to produce children. Moreover, many people consider love and partnership to be the main reasons for marriage rather than having children (procon.org). It has already been mentioned above that same-sex couples tend to be even better parents, as a lot of different-sex parents leave their families, especially fathers.
Although loss of social benefits for domestic same-sex partners may happen, it is not vital for gay people as it was the only option for them to legalize their relationships somehow. But if they achieve their main purpose – legalization of gay marriages, which was not available for them, - they will not need to require domestic partnership. Of course, if some couples still want not to marry, but to be domestic partners, they will be able to do that just like heterosexual partners do. Due to the fact that taxpayers do not choose spheres on which they pay taxes, it is not important whether they approve them or not. The idea of legalizing marriages between adults and children or other ideas are absurd, because marriage is defined to be possible between two grown-ups, who are aware of their actions. Finally yet importantly, gay culture cannot be cause to decay because of legalizing marriages. Gay rights movement was aimed at various achievements, including the legalization of marriages as one of the basic civil rights.
All things considered, it can be stated that this issue is still controversial and is argued all over the world. The situation varies from country to country. Some of them have already legalized gay marriages, but they still are the minority. However, statistics states that most people among citizens of the opposing majority believe that homosexual people should be given the same civil rights as heterosexual (pewforum.org). As all people are equal, their rights or position in society does not depend on their sexual orientation. Morever, the refusal of legalizing gay marriages is a discrimination against gay people. Although modern society mostly welcomes the legalization of gay marriage, there are some preconceptions, which are based on religious beliefs or pertain to individual moral convictions. Therefore, we can say that most positions against this idea are quite subjective. Of course, there are some reasonable arguments, but they can be disproved. Overall, I still think that the legalization of gay marriages would bring profit and become a great achievement for gay community.
Works cited
ProCon.org. "Gay Marriage ProCon.org." ProCon.org. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. PewResearchCenter. “Changing Attitudes on Gay Marriage”. Pewforum.org. Web. 29 Jul. 2015.
Infoplease. “The American Gay Rights Movement: A Timeline”. Infoplease.com. Web. N.d.
76crimes.com. “79 countries where homosexuality is illegal”. 76crimes.com. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
