In the past century, homosexuality has become more prevalent in our society. As a result, the issue of gay marriage has developed into a controversial topic in the United States. Currently, gay couples are denied the right to marriage in our country. There are a large amount of people who strongly oppose gay marriage. There are also many categories under which opposition derives from, including religion and personal beliefs. This issue is very public and political right now. The right to marriage, should this right be granted to everyone? Or is it simply a luxury only obtained by heterosexual couples? These are the questions that we as citizens should ask ourselves and one and other. There are many reasons why everyone should support the notion of gay marriage. The most important reasons include equal rights, tolerance and acceptance.
The underlying aspect that is being brought to our attention regarding gay marriage is civil rights. Denying homosexual couples the right to marriage is blatant discrimination. It essentially segregates our society into heterosexual people and homosexual people. Both groups of people are citizens in this country and deserve to be treated equally. Segregation and inequality shouldn’t be part of our aspiring progressive society. The right to marriage is given to couples, but with limitations. William Eskridge suggests that “…[the] existing state policies discriminate unlawfully when, without substantial justification, they pick and choose the citizens granted the fundamental right to marry” (123). Eskridge is pointing out the obvious bias regarding marriage. This topic divides our country. It challenges the identity of America. “ Gay marriage highlights a contradiction in American national identity: if gay marriage is supported, the normative status of the heterosexual nuclear family is undermined, while if not, the civil rights of homosexuals are undermined” (Ferguson 1). A society functions on the use...