by Angela Cheadle

Created on: October 28, 2008   Last Updated: April 07, 2011

Gay Marriage

In the U.S. 55 percent of those aged 18-29 support same-sex marriage, but only 21 percent of those over the age of 65 do" (Gill). In America today the young generations of kids are starting to take more action than ever. They are voting, supporting, and bringing awareness to the world. Gay Marriage is a very touchy subject to a lot of people. It seems 50 percent of people are against it and the other 50 percent are for it. The younger part of society believes they should have the same rights as man and woman, but the older part of society finds it insulting. In 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows a state to ignore gay marriages performed outside of its borders. Four states prohibited gay marriage before 1996; Maryland, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Wyoming (Gill). Today there are only two states in the U.S. that allow same-sex marriage; Massachusetts and California.

Most people think individuals choose to be gay, but studies show that altered genes are actually what make people gay. Mr. Neil Swidey did a study on twin boys. At seven years-old he could already tell that one of the boys was gay. They were brought up the same way and ever since they were born, their mother could tell. Gay Marriage is a very controversial issue in today's society, but what people need to understand is that they deserve to be happy too.

Same-sex marriage has been around since 1924 and is in the Constitution. Even Romans were open with their sexuality. Many religious people are against gay marriage and gay people. However, they don not know about the sexuality of Leonardo da Vinci and Bishop V. Gene Robinson. Both famous artist and loved Bishop are gay. da Vinci's homosexuality was "expressed in his personal life and art" (Johnson) When he was 24 years of age he was arrested for sodomy, which was considered a "serious crime in the 15th century" (Johnson).

56 year-old, Bishop V. Gene Robinson of "the Episcopal church is the fist openly gay bishop. The Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is one of the 38 member churches, is divided over the issue of homosexuality and feels Bishop Robinson's confirmation may be a burden to its members. However, the archbishop of Canterbury supports gay priests and believe he was elected for his gifts not his sexuality" (Johnson).

Gay marriage is one of the many controversial arguments known today. While the argument is 50/50 states do

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