Being Gay in America
The topic I choose to write about is being gay in America. This has been a rising topic in America. Homosexual people feel that they should have the same rights that heterosexual people have when it comes to marriage being at the top. What two people do with their lives is up to them but when they try and add another person into their lives, it changes the circumstances. Gays have been trying to fight for their rights for years. The Society for Human Rights in Chicago is the country’s earliest known gay rights organization. Wisconsin was the first state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its official list of mental disorders (InfoPlease). Just recently the military got rid of its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy allowing gays to serve in the military openly. I don’t see anything wrong with two people getting married to each other, but I don’t feel that homosexuals should be capable to receive the same benefits of marriage like heterosexuals. If a gay person wants to be married then they should but they also should be taxed for being in a same sex marriage.
I feel like they should get taxed because it is not natural for a man to be with a man or a woman to be with another woman. Two of the same sex cannot bear children therefore it is not acceptable to me. Homosexuals are trying to get the same equal opportunity as heterosexual marriages unless they are willing to pay some kind of payment. Under the Defense of Marriage Act made in 1996, it states that a gay married couple can take advantage of state laws with the benefits of marriage, but not any of the benefits by federal law (DOMA).
The benefits that heterosexual marriages aren’t authorized to are social security, tax, estate, veteran and military, federal employment, and immigration. The law also states that marriage is legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no state may be required to distinguish same sex marriage considered to be marriage in another state. There are six states that consent same sex marriages which are Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.
Since most states don’t allow same sex marriage, many homosexuals have ended up going with civil union. Civil union is lawfully documented union like to marriage, but it is not marriage. It is the declaration of a partnership shared by a couple. Civil union isn’t recognized by the federal government and under the Defense of Marriage Act other states don’t have to oblige to recognize them. States that allow civil union are California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.
If you are gay that is fine. What you do behind closed doors is your problem, but many gays are adopting children and raising kids into their lifestyle. In our society today, it has been an all-time high of suicides due to bullying. Why would you want to put a child in that kind of situation where they will be picked on because they have two dads or moms? Cited Section 1. ) DOMA. www. domawatch. org. 28November 2011 2. ) www. hrc. org/issues. 28November 2011 3. ) INFOPLEASE. www. infoplease. com. 28November2011 4. )
