letter to the reader

_argument_essay_1-1

This part of the project is very similar to the Letter to the Reader assignment you did earlier in the semester. Your 500-word blog post should address the following questions: What kinds of decisions did you have to make when planning your argument and your essay? What was your research process for the essay? How did you modify the content, structure, rhetorical appeals, format, style, and tone of your argument to accommodate your purpose? What was the hardest part of the project and how did you work through that difficulty?

Liu 1

ENG1020

Dec. 1 2012

Gay Marriage should be Legal

Gay marriage refers to a marriage between people of the same sex. Marriage is a union that allows people the joy of companionship and love, both of which make life more fulfilling. Every human being seeks to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, and each person looks for this acceptance from others who will share in his or her values and beliefs. When a person finds someone with whom they share these similarities, they marry and form a family where they feel accepted and treasured. Companionship therefore is a natural instinct that every person is born with, and gay persons have the same instinct as heterosexuals. Some suggest that gay people should form their union in secret but not in the public eye. However, that is equal to discrimination, and gay people have a right to show their love and desire to be with their companions for life openly. There are several reasons why gay marriage should be legalized, and these are both social and legal.

The major argument against gay marriage is the notion that same sex marriage are anti- procreation and that legalizing gay marriages will lead to a decrease in birth rate since the core of marriage is procreation. According to the data from 2011 census, six states permit gay marriage, these states that permit gay marriage are growing more slowly than the rest of the country. Here are the data Connecticut: 4.9%, Iowa: 4.1%, Massachusetts: 3.1%, New Hampshire: 6.5%, New York: 2.1%, Vermont: 2.8%. These are the population growth rate between 2000 to 2011 for those states that permit gay marriage. More so, if gay marriage is legalized, it does not stop heterosexual couples from having children. The two are not mutually exclusive, and thus, legalizing gay marriage does not impede on the ability of the heterosexual couples to procreate. There are also various avenues of procreation in today’s modern world, and these avenues favor procreation even in gay marriages. An example is the use of surrogate mothers and in-vitro fertilization. These two options allow same sex couples to have children with their own DNA, which nullifies the argument that gay marriages are a danger to procreation. This argument on procreation insinuates that gay marriage would be acceptable if the partners could bear and nurture children. However, the same people who put up this argument go further to contradict themselves by saying that same sex households are unfit environments for raising children. Therefore, they ideally prefer if same sex partners remain childless yet they attack them about it. There has been no sociological research or any data proving that children raised by same sex partners are less equipped to be in society than those raised in heterosexual marriages. Therefore, this cannot be a basis to disapprove the legalizing of gay marriage since the basis of the argument is prejudiced.

Since ancient times, there have been different forms of marriages across the years that do not fit into the conventional heterosexual monogamous marriage. For example, polygamy, polyandry, marriage with concubines, marriage between cousins, to name a few. Hence, to call monogamous heterosexual marriage the natural marriage or traditional marriage is to assume that every person’s beliefs about marriage are similar, and to ignore all history. It is ignorance to call heterosexual monogamous marriage the traditional marriage and ignore all other forms of marriages, and it is consequently ignorance to call same sex marriage unnatural. People’s belief system shapes their idea of what marriage entails and describes what is natural and unnatural. For example, Christians consider same sex marriage unnatural because of their belief system which is based on the Bible, but atheists do not share in this belief. Thus, a Christian cannot decide for the atheist what is natural and unnatural since their belief systems are different. Which means that the definition of what marriage is should be the right of a person as belief is. Therefore, people should not impede on the rights of others to engage in their own definition of marriage nor force them to conform to it. Same sex partners have a right to define marriage as they understand it and to be in it.

Gay marriage should be legalized because it is a constitutional right for gay people to have freedom of choice in matters of marriage. The constitution promotes liberty and equality, which means that all people have a right to enjoy this freedom without prejudice. To make gay marriage illegal is to say that the government has the right to decide which part of the constitution to follow. It would mean that that discrimination is allowed and that the constitution is optional. That is a dangerous road to tread on because the power to revoke the rights of one group of people can lead to further discrimination of other groups and eventual complete disregard for the constitution. The constitution governs a country and ensures that harmony is maintained and the freedoms of people are protected. It protects the people from having their rights infringed on and allows liberty. However, when the rights of one group are infringed on, liberty does not exist. Therefore, gay marriage should be legalized in order to protect the constitution and subsequently, the liberty of the country.

Legalizing gay marriage will help in the fight against discrimination. All through history, people have discriminated against those they perceive as defective or inferior. Initially, discrimination led to colonization of perceived inferior races and eventual racism against the darker skinned races. Many atrocities were committed against these “inferior” races and it has taken several years of fighting this discrimination to acquire equal treatment of races. Yet, the effects of years of discrimination are still being felt. Legalizing gay marriage will prevent discrimination against gays and turn them into accepted members of society. It will reduce the possibility of gay bashing and will protect their rights, and would give them higher social recognition in society as legally married couples are treated with respect. A society with discrimination breeds conflict and possible violence, and preventing discrimination fosters harmony, which is beneficial for all people, both heterosexual and homosexual. After all, heterosexual parents can bear gay children, and each parent wants to bring up their child in a world that is not prejudiced against them. A society free of prejudice would appeal to all alike.

Research has proven that married people have higher chances of better health than unmarried people do. This is because of the companionship that comes with marriage. In a marriage one finds a person to share burdens with and enjoy life with. This creates fullness in life and when one falls ill, they have someone caring for them. These are pleasure of life that every person has equal rights to and is unkind to deny the gays a chance to find fullness in life. In a more wholesome picture, a healthier society would save the government millions of dollars spent on disease and medication. It is therefore financial beneficial for gay marriage to be legalized.

These rights include the ability to inherit the partner’s property, the ability to co-sign and own joint property and insurance, to name a few. They would otherwise be denied these rights even after years of cohabiting because of lack of a marriage certificate. According to Common Law of Marriage, a marriage certificate acknowledges their union to the public and the government, and this makes it possible for them to get rights of a legally married couple. Without legal marriage, their union regardless of the number of years spent together would not be acknowledged, and this would make them be recognized as separate entities by law. Lack of recognition makes it difficult for them to adopt a child because married couples are favored as a more stable environment to raise a child than single people. Therefore, the recognition would help them be viewed as a married couple and thus make adoption more possible.

Legalizing same sex marriages can also be of social benefit to the general society in terms of providing stable homes for adopted children. There are many children in need of love and security that being part of a family provides. When a married couple adopts a child, the child gets the privilege of having a home, a family, an education, and love. Having same sex marriages legalised improves the chances of adoption for those in same sex relationship, this increases the number of couples who can adopt, and thus more children get the experience of having a family’s love and the benefits that come with being part of a family.

Erosion of moral values in society is an argument against legalising same sex marriages; however, allowing same sex marriages would help to stabilise their sexual relationships because marriage encourages one to have responsible sexual behaviour, which is rarely present among single people. This will foster the morals in the society. To pronounce support for morality, and refute gay marriages is contradictory because marriage is an institution that is of high morality and the core of society because it is the beginning of family. Therefore, to allow same sex marriage is to promote morality, and going against it is promoting reckless sexual behaviour that comes with being single.

In conclusion, legalizing same sex marriages is a topic that fuels various discussions on morality, human rights, gender roles and religion. At the end of the day, it is an individual decision that should not be put under such scrutiny by the public in order to prevent discrimination from crippling the society, discrimination of any group for whichever reason is unlawful and infringing on a person’s rights. It is the social and legal right for gays to marry legally, and it would be discriminating to deny them their right based on our beliefs. Such discrimination would be terming them as inferior or defective as a people, which would be the same as condemnation and accepting society’s prejudices. We should defend the constitutional right of liberty and foster the vision of the founding fathers to create a nation where all are equal and none is less equal than the rest. Gay marriage should be legalized.

Works Cited

Mackun, Paul and Wilson Steven. “Population and Distribution and Change: 2000 to 2011” 2011 Census Briefs. March 2011

Schauder, Stephanie. “Christian Ethical Arguments Regarding Same Sex Marriage” Vol 3 2011

Meyer, Cathy. “What is Common Law Marriage” Nov. 2010