Committed to Love
Bryan Wallace
PHI 103 Informal Logic
Instructor: Christine Ng
March 11, 2013

Committed to Love
The definition and “traditional meaning of marriage is “The state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law”(Webster) The constitution of marriage is much more than defining it between a man and a woman. Same sex marriage should be legal and recognized in the same regards as marriage between people of opposite sex.
In The United States as of today there are only six states and The District of Columbia that recognize same sex marriage. (Savage, 2012) With the other 38 states falling behind the lines of legalizing same sex marriage, it leaves the gay community at a loss. All people should all be treated equal and be afforded the same rights. When a man and woman share vows of commitment, there is usually nothing stated that separates their sexual organs. People of the same sex can and do share the same beliefs and commitments as people of the opposite sex there are opposite sex couples that have been together for less amount of time and were able to legally wed. There should be no law or constitutional amendments that say whether or not people of the same sex should not be allowed to share a life together with someone just because of their sex.
There are more than 100,000 legally married same sex couples in the six states that have legalized it. (Savage 2012) The problem people have with the issue is that it is something different. “Most people that are against same sex marriage believe that marriage should conform to the traditional terms of being between a man and woman.”(Bidstrup, 2009) We as a society have evolved greatly in the last century, in that we need to allow for diverse cultural and personal lifestyles. The United States elected an African American president in 2008. In the 1900s and even later, this would never have even been thought of, let alone happening. Times change and so do people and their beliefs in what should be right and wrong. The issue of same sex marriage should have no merit, or political value. If The United States were to legalize and recognize same sex marriage, it would be no different than the way the country is now. We would still have a huge national debt, we would still have such high crime areas and political issues, and we would still have unemployment. “So allowing two people of the same sex to get married would not be harming anyone nor would it impact the lives of people who are against the issue.”(Adams, 2012)
About half of people in the U.S. support gay marriage, far less than those who are otherwise supportive of legally enforced gay rights (about 75%).(Savage pg8. 2012) This means that many of the same people who are even passionately in favor of gay rights oppose gays on this one issue. Why all the passion? It is because there is misunderstanding about what homosexuality really is, as well as the huge assumption that gay people enjoy the same civil rights as everyone else. There are also a lot of stereotypes about homosexual relationships, and even a great deal of confusion of what marriage is all about.
The important thing to remember is that just like in straight society, where such relationships also exist, homosexual relationships are a small minority, and exist primarily among the young. Indeed, one of the most frequent complaints of older gay men is that it is almost impossible to find quality single men to get into a relationship with, because they're already all taken! (Adams, 2012)
If you attend any gay event, such as a Pride festival or a PFLAG convention, you'll find this to be true. As gays age and mature, just like straight people, they begin to value and find their way into loving, long-term, and committed relationships.
The values that some gay couples exhibit in their daily lives are often miss-leading compared to those of straight people. “They