Gay Marriage Essay

Submitted By ljt0018
Words: 1264
Pages: 6

Marriage Equality It’s something people have been debating for years now, and yet there has been no clear-cut and overall agreement throughout the United States. Traditionally in this country, marriage has been defined as a religious and legitimate pledge between a man and woman. According to Andrew Sullivan, “Marriage provides the ultimate form of acceptance for, personal, intimate relationships in our society, and gives those who marry an insider status of the most powerful kind” (Same-Sex Marriage 122-123). Homosexual relationships are gradually gaining acceptance in this country, some states have made marriage legal. Support of gay marriage has also been on the rise and something that has helped that is celebrities that have decided to admit their homosexuality. With so much support more and more government officials have come face to face with the debate and have given it a second thought. On the other hand though as much support as there is there also is strong hate for the idea from many religious groups and other groups of people that believe in the purity of marriage. Inequality should not be an issue in the United States and everyone including homosexuals should be allowed to express their love and get married like everyone else. When it comes to gay marriage it is safe to say that throughout the United States it is a topic that is very debated on. There are plenty of states that believe there is no harm and that decision is come to by vote of the people in that state. Throughout the United States same-sex marriage was banned sometime in the early 2000’s. It was until 2008 that California decided to change things up and became the first state to allow same-sex marriage, although it was only briefly it was a feat that was gladly reached. Then from 2008 to 2013 fourteen states have legalized same sex marriage, some of those states include, Washington D.C., New York and California. Along with those fourteen states there are two states that have no law permitting or banning same-sex marriage, those two states are New Mexico and New Jersey. New Jersey has recently been in the news because of a decision that will be reached on the topic, as of right now the Governor and Superior Court Judge has decided that the state will allow same-sex couples to marry. Legal deputy Hayley Gorenberg expressed her emotions by saying, “This news is thrilling. We argued that limiting lesbians and gay men to civil union is unfair and unconstitutional and the court has agreed”. With all of these states changing their ways it has opened the door to conversations in other states and it is a subject that is constantly in the news and getting attention. Even though some states have expressed that they never plan to allow same-sex marriage there is hope that just enough states will change their mind. Hopefully it will become a new standard of accepting people for who they are and whom they love. One thing that has completely changed many peoples view on the subject of same-sex marriage is the support it gets by certain people. One group of people that may have the biggest influence on how other people think is celebrities; there have been a number of celebrities that have expressed their support. Some celebrities that have shown their support include Beyoncé, Jay Z, Brad Pitt and Pink. One celebrity though that has done more than support it has completely changed people’s opinions and became the first person to come out on a sitcom on national television. That person is Ellen DeGeneres; you may know her from some of her comedy or her participation in some popular big screen pictures. But before all that she was a self-built comedian that was given her own sitcom and made her own decision to come out on the show. She made the decision because she was tired of hiding whom she was and although she was instantly condemned by select fans many people stuck with her. She became very well known for what she did and many people sent her letters