“Marriage is the legal union between a man and a woman for life,” according to Webster’s Dictionary. The topic of gay marriage has been an important issue since the 1970s. According to according to Ralph Wedgewood , the topic brings up many questions: What is marriage? What would same-sex marriages mean for us? Is it something really worth fighting for?

Many people think gay marriage should be legalized in all 50 states. Other, more moderate people believe that gay marriage should not be legalized, but that gay unions should be allowed. There is a third and final group of conservatives that think no form of gay union should be legalized. I tend to agree more with the first group. Gay marriage should be legalized in all 50 states because if not, this would be a violation of their constitutional rights.

Many people think that the only reason gay and lesbian couples want legal recognition for there marriages is to ruin the institution of marriage between a man and a woman. This is completely false. Many gay and lesbian couples only want a legally recognized marriage so that they can share the same rights, obligations and benefits as heterosexual couples. Gays and lesbians should share equal rights with everyone else. It is unfair to discriminate against someone just because of sexual orientation.

California was the first state to allow gay marriage but then it was taken back through Proposition 8. Many people think the right of marriage is fundamental to our society, and that you should not be excluded just because of your sexual preference. People say that marriage is used mainly for procreation, and that since gay couples can’t share this that there is no need for them to marry.

Paul Evdokimov, a religious scholar, said that marriage is the act of giving oneself wholly to another. Just because gay couples can’t procreate doesn’t mean they can’t give themselves to one another and have any less of a loving relationship then a heterosexual couple.

Heather George was quoted as saying, “If marriage is redefined out of existence, our entire society will be harmed.” Many people have been fighting very hard to end even the discussion of gay marriage in our legislature. In California, they were very successful in overturning the gay marriage law through Proposition 8. This was the most monetarily supported campaign on the ballot that year except for the presidential campaign. Through this, you can obviously see that this is a very important topic to many people on both sides. Both groups make very good arguments in their favor.

Many people view gay and lesbian relationships as immoral and an abomination to begin with, and to add the thought of legalizing their marriages rocks people’s religious beliefs to the core. Religion is used as a main argument against gay marriage. Religious scholars attest to the fact that the Bible specifically states that homosexual relationships are an abomination and should not be encouraged by legalizing gay marriages. They also believe that this would not only affect the individuals, but that growing up in a homosexual home would also affect any children they might have.

Rick Santorum argues that it is not necessarily about making the argument as to why they want to be married as much as it is about why their marriages

would be beneficial to society as a whole.

Gay marriage is a very serious topic effecting our conservations in today’s world. If it is not dealt with, it will just grow into a bigger and bigger deal. Many people are heavily involved in the process to legalize gay marriage. Jeff Young is heavily involved in the process to legalize gay marriage. He shares viewpoints very similar to mine. Hopefully one day, gay and lesbian couples will be able to share the same marital rights as heterosexual couples.

-- Maggie Cope, 10th grade, Orangeburg Preparatory School

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