Same-Sex Marriage Essay

Dear Governer Corbett,
       Can you imagine being in love? Wanting to get married? What about if you couldn't get married to the one you love, merely because someone else deemed it wrong? Countless people in America fall in love each year. Approximately 2.2 million people get married each year. Marriage is a beautiful thing, really. Two people who love each other commiting to be with each other until the day they die. So, why then, would people be denied to make the official commitment simply because of their gender? You can ask almost anyone and the answer will be the same; you don't choose who you fall in love with. Why should someone be subjectified to not being able to marry the love of their life, because they were attracted to someone of the same sex? It comes down to rights. Not just constitutional rights, but basic civil rights. Everyone should be able to love, and to marry the person they love if they wish. It's a lot like what happened in the 1960's- and then there was Loving vs. Virginia. It's the same story, just with different characters.
        "In the embryonic state, people are bisexual, but in the course of their natural development, most lose their desire for members of the same sex. These people are the heterosexuals, who love members of the opposite sex. Another category consists of those individuals whose sexual organs develop normally but in whom the desire for same-sex individuals in the feeling center fails to recede. The results are men who love men and women who love women." Wrote Magnus Hirschfeld, MD, 19th century physician and founder of The Institute For Sexual Sciences in his book "Sappho and Socrates". People don't choose their sexual orientation- much like they don't choose their sex at birth or if they're right or left-handed. Also, there remains the question of why people would choose to be homosexual in a society where they would be thought of as a minority, where they couoldn't get married to who they love. And, better still remains the fact that you don't choose who you fall in love with. Homosexuals are being punished for something that is out of their control, much like blacks were punished and victimized with slavery and segregation. We look back on it now and see it as foolish, cruel. What if one day we could look back on times like these and think about how foolish it was?
         Gay rights- no matter what people may say- are, essentially, civil rights. The definition of civil rights is: "Rights to personal liberty established by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. constitution and certain Congressional acts, especially as applied to an individual or a minority group." A minority group... Maybe like homosexuals are considered a minority? Aren't civil rights what America is about? Legalizing same-sex marriage is one step closer to being a truely free country. Homosexuals being denied marriage is a form of minority discrimintation.
         People against same-sex marriage may say that it should not be legalized, because God and the Bible say that homosexuality is a sin. Yes, the Bible does talk of homosexuality, but as a close friend of mine said, "You take from the Bible what you want to. It depends on how you view it." If you're a devout Christian who thinks that homosexuality is wrong, you'll most likely find that in the Bible. However, if you support homosexuality, you'll most likely find that the Bible condemns aspects of homosexuality, such as in Pagan rituals. However, Bible aside, this is not a weight-bearing argument. The seperation of church and state comes into play here, so it doesn't lawfully matter if the Bible condemns homosexuality or open-armedly welcomes it, because religion has no basis in a court of law.
        Some people say that marriage is about procreation, and therefore same-sex couples shouldn't be allowed to marry because they can't have children. However, this argument, again, doesn't quite work. If marriage were about procreation, (and couples who cannot procreate therefore should not be allowed to marry) then what about a heterosexual couple, in which the woman has had a medical condition resulting in her being unable to mother children? Should they, too, be unable to marry? Marriage isn't about what gender you are, or how many childrean, if any at all, you have. Marriage is about love. That's really all that should matter in marriage, because it's viewed by many as the ultimate expression of love. Homosexuals are just like everyone else. They live, they breathe, they hurt, they love. And they love as deeply as anyone else.
        This could be a great thing for you to do. It's not a topic many governers or senators want to do- but people have done it and succeeded. And where they might've lost some supporters, they've gained an entire community of respect and praise. I do hope you can be one of them. It's an honorable step to take, and it's an admirable thing to take on. You can be one of the people who changed things; it's risky, but worth it.
        Same-sex marriage may be a controverisal topic, but legalizing it will change America for the better. Couples, no matter what gender, should have the right to marry. Homosexual couples can't be wrong- love is never wrong. Love has no gender; wouldn't it be wonderful if marriage didn't? "The land of the free and the home of the brave." Be brave- dare to support homosexuals. You could be supported more than you think. Not quite the land of the free until everyone is free. It's the new civil rights movement- same story, different characters.