by Suzanne Pilkington

Created on: June 03, 2009

Yes, homosexuals should receive all of the benefits and rights of marriage including the actual right to marry. The moment we limit one person from marrying another person is the moment that we slam the door shut on civil rights for every American. Every U.S. citizen, and for that matter every world citizen, should be allowed to marry the person they love.

It doesn't matter what you think of homosexuals; what matters is that by saying they cannot marry, you are denying someone else a right based upon your opinion. Would you like someone to come into your home and say they don't like some part of your personality, and that on that basis they intend to limit your ability to marry who you please?

I can't believe this debate has gone on as long as it has. It is an atrocious blunder that some American citizens are denied the same rights as others based upon sexual orientation. This is a country that has protected civil rights for women, minorities, and those with disabilities; and yet we are once again taking away rights because of the beliefs of some citizens.

A hundred years ago women could not vote because many people believed them to be subordinate to men. Fifty years ago minorities did not have the same rights as others because they were considered second-rate citizens. Today, such an action as limiting marriage rights for either women or minorities would be considered a crime. So how can some states make laws that stop someone from marrying simply because of their sexual orientation? How is the question of gay rights any different than minority's or women's rights?

The most common argument that I hear from those citizens who are against the right of homosexuals to marry, is that their own personal and/or religious definition of marriage does not include marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman. However, there is no national religion that we all must belong to, so how can some citizens force their religious and personal beliefs upon others? What happened to the freedom of religion guaranteed by our government? How can those citizens opposed to gay marriage be allowed to dictate lawmaking for others who do not prescribe to the same beliefs or religion?

In a number of cases, the United States Supreme Court has upheld the national government's right to protect Civil Rights. On the basis of past cases, the issue of homosexual marriage should not be decided by the states, but instead it should be a consideration for the national government.

In 1964, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in the case of Loving vs. Virginia. In this case, the Court ruled that the state of Virginia could not limit the right to marry based upon a difference in skin color. (source: Wikipedia.org)

Although, this case focused on marriage rights based upon race, I don't see how sexual orientation is any different. With bans on gay marriage, some states are still limiting a person's right to marry based upon some part of their being as a human. With the Loving v. Virginia decision, I feel that the Supreme Court took the question of who can marry out of the state arena and placed it in the hands of the national government. Therefore states should not be allowed to limit gay marriage, and the national government, via the Supreme Court, should rule on behalf of equal marriage rights for all. I only hope such a case comes before this notable court soon, so this matter can be put to rest.

Works Cited:
"Loving v. Virginia." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia.

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