Gay Rights

By: Torian Portier

Thesis statement:
Gay rights is even is an even more controversial topic than women’s rights and African American rights.

Works Cited: 1) http://www.datehookup.com/content-the-argument-for-and-against-gay-marriage.htm 2) http://www.religioustolerance.org/denomchg2.htm 3) http://www.enderminh.com/minh/civilrights.aspx 4) https://rcclibrary.wikispaces.com/GayRights 5) http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/same_sex_marriage/index.html 6) http://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/wedding/a/lgmarriage.htm 7) http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~digger/305/001gay_m_articles.htm 8) http://www.ithacalibrary.com/sp/subjects/gaymarriage 9) http://www.glaad.org/reference?gclid=CMvzg73X_q8CFUMTNAodkVECAA 10) United States History text book

Portier 1
When the founding fathers of the United States were writing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, they had a goal of equality for every citizen in their minds such as African American rights and women’s rights, so why is the topic of gay rights so controversial in America? Just like African Americans and women and all different minority groups, gays are people too. One of the most heated topics in America today is same sex marriage. All same sex marriage is, is regular marriage but with two people that are of the same sex. America's population is growing, and the number of homosexuals is increasing as well. With the growing population of gays in America's communities growing closer to 10%, the topic of gay marriage comes up time and time again. There are always two sides to each battle, and each side feels strongly on their decided opinions. The gay population seems to feel more strongly on this battle.
Gay marriage is a hot issue facing American politics. It raises passionate arguments on both sides. Those in favor of legalizing gay marriage see the realization of gay rights as the next step in the American civil rights movement. While those against it see it as a desecration of the institution of marriage for religious or personal reasons. Over the past few decades steps have been taken to expand the bounds of marriage to include homosexuals. Supporters of gay marriage have built their concept around equality, if minorities like African Americans can have equal rights, why can’t homosexuals? They are people too. This country was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, they believe it is hypocritical to deny the rights of homosexuals.

Portier 2
In 1998, President Bill Clinton denied same sex couples the right to federal benefits with the signing of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Since, conservatives in Congress have tried to bolster DOMA by making it a constitutional amendment, however they have never received the necessary two-thirds majority to do so. Nonetheless, several states have passed laws legalizing marriage or civil unions for same sex couples. In April 2000, Vermont became the first state to legalize same sex unions between homosexuals. In 2004, a Massachusetts high court deemed civil union unconstitutional in terms of a comparison to the full rights that would be awarded by same sex marriage. Same sex marriage is only currently legal in six states in the United States, why cant same sex marriage be legal in every state?
At the start of the 19th century, there was a near consensus among religious groups concerning the legitimacy of human slavery. They had no difficulty interpreting what the Bible said on the topic. Human slavery was seen as a natural part of North American and many other cultures. African Americans had inherited the "curse of Ham." They were destined to be enslaved because of Ham's unspecified sinful activity with his father Noah circa 2325 BCE, almost 100 generations earlier. Rabbi M.J. Raphall (circa 1861) commented that the Tenth Commandment places