Gay Marriage Laws

For many years, views on gay marriage has been a subject of serious debate. Many people feel it's no one's business who someone chooses to do what with behind closed doors. Some argue that it's "unchristian" and therefore both unethical and not what kids should be raised to be ok with. A more logical opposition is that it's a known fact that gay sex is the root of certain STD's, namely AIDS. For years and years, people have been trying to establish, and also to prevent, laws against or allowing gay marriage. A result is that many people decide which politician to vote for based largely on their views on this topic.

I have recently come to the conclusion that not only should homosexual marriage be legal, it should be illegal to make laws against it.

There are three points to my reasoning:

1: By definition, laws prohibiting gay marriage is discrimination.

Discrimination, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is:

1the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex:victims of racial discriminationdiscrimination against homosexuals

By this definition and as seen in the examples, it is in fact considered discrimination to exclude homosexuals from things in the same sorts of ways that black people were once excluded. It's now illegal to discriminate by minority, and homosexuals are indeed considered a minority. It may be a bit of a leap to make, but in following that logic wouldn't telling two gay men that they aren't allowed to get married technically be the same thing as telling two African Americans that THEY aren't allowed get married?

2: In the US, we have the right to choose whom we marry.

Everyone who's been taught about the Bill of Rights in high school should recall that one of the ten amendments states that we, in a nut shell, have the right to make certain choices. Personally, my Constitution teacher explained it to me like this: This amendment is the reason why I can choose what I wear, where I go, how my hair looks, and who my significant other is. When considering this amendment, shouldn't that also apply to gays? I can choose to marry any man I want to. Why can't a man also choose to marry any man he wants to? In short, I feel that a law prohibiting same-sex marriage would be unconstitutional.

3:  "Gay Marriage is unchristian" Is not a valid point in the US.

One of the statements I've seen to justify a law that prohibits homosexual marriage is "The Bible says that homosexuality is a sin, and this means gay marriage would ruin the sanctity of marriage." That statement seems all fine and dandy, and actually appears to be a good point at first. Most marriages DO include a christian ceremony, after all. The problem is that the United States is not allowed to make laws that are either for or against any religion. Therefore, just because the christian religion says that homosexuality is bad doesn't mean the US should ban it. If anything, it means this country CAN'T ban it. Besides that, the Christian Bible also strongly preaches against divorce. But you don't see anyone saying how divorce needs to be illegal because the bible says its bad. And even if someone did try and get that to become a law, that'd be dismissed as unconstitutional for the same exact reason of breaching the 1st amendment.

In conclusion, the only valid argument in the US seems to be that it can cause/spread diseases. Of course, even straight relationships can cause or spread disease. Laws against gay marriage should be declared illegal and/or unconstitutional. They are the same thing as discrimination, and they technically go against 2 different amendments. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pushing for these homosexual rights for reasons like being a lesbian. In fact, I'm somewhat homophobic; the thought of another girl hitting on me makes me rather nervous. But I don't see a problem why to men can't hold hands in public while wearing wedding bands. It's not like every gay person shoves their way of life into the face of others on a daily basis. It's not like a man that prefers a man is therefore going to hit on every single man they see. If you're going to be against gay rights, at least be more logical about it.