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... miles with same-sex and opposite-sex parents were quoted at the September 1996 Circuit Court trial in Hawaii, where the original case for homosexual marriage was tried. The studies showed that the genders of the parents are unimportant to the quality of child-rearing, but that family breakdowns are very harmful to children. Under these grounds, these studies could actually be used to support the homosexual position in that a committed homosexual relationship would be more stable for a child than an unstable heterosexual relationship. Again, these concerns are the same concerns voiced with interracial marriages.
Thirty years ago, people were concerned over the psychological effects of interracial parenting on children. Any psychological problems posed to children by having homosexual parents would be imposed by the attitude of the general public, not by the parents. As with interracial marriages, this attitude of the public would change with time. This argument is no reason to deny homosexuals their constitutional rights. The last argument is that overall society will be damaged if homosexual marriages are allowed. Richard Stengel cites William J.
Bennett as saying that same-sex marriages would do significant long-term social damage to society's most important institution, and that stretching the definition of marriage would jeopardize an already shaky institution (24). The main argument is based on the fact that marriage is the greatest civilizing agent for young men. Both sides agree to this point, but they disagree on who should be allowed to marry. The argument against homosexual marriage contends that homosexuals can not have committed relationships and remain faithful to one another.
That homosexuals maintain some kind of inherent unfaithfulness by the nature of their sexual inclinations is simply not true. Homosexual couples are the same as heterosexual couples in their abilities to remain faithful and committed to one another. The couples that are so adamantly fighting for their constitutional rights to marry are evidence of stable, committed, homosexual relationships. In an internet article, Homosexual Marriages in Vermont, the following couples and their length of commitment to each other are listed: Stan Baker and Peter Harrigan (20 years), Nina Beck and Stacy Jones (7 years), and Lois Farnham and Holly Puterbaugh (25 years). Other arguments that contend that overall society will be damaged by allowing homosexual marriages are that an increased burden will be placed on society by extending the economic and legal benefits of marriage to homosexual couples, that a vast number of laws and private company policies will have to be addressed and modified, and that the economic burden of all of this will fall on society. Since Americans were able to handle this burden with the legalization of interracial couples, I think that Americans could handle it now.
Those opposed to homosexual marriage need to remember that America liberated itself to obtain freedom not for most men, but for all men. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was unanimously signed into place by the thirteen united states of America. This document, while proclaiming the colonies' freedom from British rule, set down the principles under which America would be founded. It states, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Under the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution was set in place and has continued to be ratified when these principles were found to not be upheld. As with the case of Loving v. Virginia, where the Supreme Court cited that the right to marriage was part of the right to pursue happiness, the miscegenation laws outlawing interracial marriages were found to be unconstitutional. Those opposed to homosexual marriage need to remember why the freedom of our country is so important. Obviously, our forefathers felt that the price of freedom was worth freedom. Our country would not exist today if our forefathers had not signed the Declaration of Independence, and braved the repercussions of it.
They were absolutely certain that they wanted a nation of their own making, a nation where everyone was equal and entitled certain rights. I can not imagine that any American would not choose to hold to these beliefs. Any African-American should understand the importance of upholding the fundamental beliefs on which America was based. It was these fundamental beliefs that abolished slavery, and called for equal rights. Any woman should understand the importance of upholding these fundamental beliefs.
It was these beliefs that have worked toward ending womans suffrage. Any parent, any working man, any American, should understand the importance of our fundamental beliefs. Without them, there is a never-ended list of the atrocities that could be committed: cruel and unusual punishment, sweatshop labor, unsafe work standards, unfair work practices, and on and on. Without them, America simply would not be the free nation that it is.
To deny any one of our beliefs even once for anyone sets a precedent for them to be denied again and again, to anyone. Personally, I believe in the adage, Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Homosexuals deserved to be treated equally, and if they love one another, they deserve to be able to get married. Bibliography: Works Cited Cleveland Board of Education v.
LaFleur. 21 Jan. 1974: web Homosexual Marriages In Vermont. 8 Mar 1998: web mar 8. htm. Homosexual Marriages: Religious Aspects. 7 Mar 1998: web mar 7. htm. Homosexual Marriages: Statement By Hawaii's Future Today. 2 Feb 1998: web has.
htm. Loving v. Virginia. 12 Jun. 1967: web Mohr, Richard D. A More Perfect Union. Boston: Beacon, 1994. Stengel, Richard.
For Better Or For Worse? Time. 3 Jun. 1996: 23 - 25. Stewart, Gail B. The Other America. San Diego: Lucent, 1997.
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Research essay sample on Declaration Of Independence Homosexual Marriages
