Legalizing Same Sex Marriage

Damien. Lorden Unit 3 Individual Project There are many cause and effects to legalizing same-sex marriage, whether they are beneficial or not depends on the situation at hand. It’s becoming more common in today’s society to be homosexual. Most of the older generations think that it’s something that shouldn’t be legalized, weather it is has to deal with religion, someone’s way of life or whatever else the case may be.

Although on the other hand, the younger generations now are becoming more accepting of the thought of same-sex couples. Most young adults/teenagers think that same-sex marriage is acceptable; that everyone should have the right to be happy and love is love no matter what they are. Even though there have been some good bad explanations to why same-sex marriage shouldn’t be legal; there are also many reasons why same-sex marriage should be legalized. There are many benefits to legalizing same-sex marriage that most neglect to realize.

According to Ramesh Ponnuru in “Coming out Ahead,” Ponnuru states, “three causes that change the public’s attitude towards same-sex marriage are sexual revolution, gay activism in the 1990’s, and the disappointment of social conservative organizations” (Ponnuru, 2003). He continues to state “it’s time for conservatives to take their cue from the New Jersey Nets, or maybe from those hard-luck kids, the Boston Red Sox” (Ponnuru, 2003). He explains how it’s time to accept the revolution and stop trying to use other problems to avoid the difference in lifestyles of the old days and face the new upcoming eras.

The times are changing and so should the way the government compares the new rules and regulations of today to previous eras and generations. The way people think and live today are similar, but not the same to how we thought and lived back then. The technology, economy, government, and even schools have changed throughout time. If inanimate objects can change throughout time with rules and regulations changing based on their evolution, why can’t rules and regulation change based on era changes/evolutions?

In “What Century Is This Anyway” Edmund White states how “his generation watched their families marry and with that, 1 out of every 2 marriages ended with a divorce” (White, 1998). With White’s previous quote it could be used as a statement to help benefit legalizing same-sex marriage because: with legalizing same-sex marriage it could help by increasing marriage rates and help with lowering or at least maintaining the divorce rate. “The first state to legalize same-sex marriage was the state of Massachusetts in 2004” (ProCon. org, 2013).

This had lead Massachusetts to have “their divorce rate lowered 21% between the years 2003 and 2008 also resulting in the lowest divorce rate in the country in 2008” (ProCon. org, 2013). On the other hand, “Alaska was the first state to alter its constitution to ban same-sex marriage in 1998 causing an increase of 17. 2% in its divorce rate” (ProCon. org, 2013). “Between the years 2003 to 2008, the seven states with the highest divorce rating all had constitutional prohibitions to same-sex marriage” (ProCon. org, 2013). Most would think that divorce rates count for at least something in the government and economy today.

On the gaymarriage. procon. org website is a list of pros and cons for legalizing same-sex marriage. According to one of the many pros listed, “same-sex marriage could benefit everyone by financial gain to state and local governments” (ProCon. org). Between “marriage licenses, higher income taxes (the so-called “marriage penalty”), and the decreases in costs for state benefit programs. The Comptroller for New York City found that legalizing gay marriage would bring $142 million to the City’s economy and $184 million to the State’s economy over three years” (ProCon. org). Same-sex marriage will also make it easier for same-sex couples to adopt” (ProCon. org, 2013). This would benefit the “US with the 100,000 children are waiting to be adopted, a longitudinal study published in Pediatrics on June 7, 2010” (ProCon. org, 2013). This study “found that children of lesbian mothers were rated higher than children of heterosexual parents in social and academic competence. The children also had fewer social problems” (ProCon. org, 2013). “Another study on July 2010 found that children of gay fathers were “as well-adjusted as those adopted by heterosexual parents”” (ProCon. rg, 2013) In conclusion, legalizing same-sex marriage can be a very beneficial thing for our government as well as the economy. With the change of times, generations and eras, it’s time to change the ways and views of traditional values. “Two people of the same sex who love each other should be allowed to publicly celebrate their commitment and receive the same benefits of marriage as opposite sex couples” (ProCon. org). “There is no such thing as traditional marriage” (ProCon. org). It’s time to except the revolution!