Same Sex Marriage Although same sex marriage has been legalized in seventeen US states (Seaton), every person in this country should have the right to marry the person that they love; which is why same sex marriage should be legalized nationally. Our government should not have the right to forbid two people in love from marrying each other simply because they are of the same sex. Same sex couples should have the same right to publically celebrate their commitment to another person just as heterosexual couples can and take advantage of the benefits that marriage offers for couples. Legalizing gay marriage is necessary to insure everyone in this country has equal rights. Some people argue that the legalization will change the traditional outlook on marriage but if we take a closer look we can see that throughout our country’s history marriage has changed immensely. Before 1967 interracial marriage was illegal in the United States, before that, women had little to no legal rights and were completely dependent on their husbands for their legal and economic identity, also with the introduction of “No-Fault” divorce, which is the legal right to divorce that does not require a showing of wrongdoing by either party, in 1970 the institution of marriage has changed completely over the past 50 years (Pierceson). The comparison of the opposition of gay marriage today to the opposition and outlaw of interracial marriage before the mid 60’s is valid because at that time there was a vast amount of discrimination against people who were different. Our society should not determine who could get married based on sexual orientation because that is just like restricting marriage from people based on skin color. As our society evolves so should our laws. Back in the 60’s people began to realize that outlawing marriage based on skin color was immoral and unconstitutional and now the majority of people, around 53% (ProCon), are realizing that the definition of marriage needs to evolve again to include citizens of the same sex to be allowed to marry. Those who argue it will change the traditional sense of marriage do not realize that marriage has already changed so much and it is our job as US citizens to amend our mistakes and make sure that every person is treated equally. 50 years from now we will be looking back on our nation’s history and realize that outlawing same sex marriage was just as wrong and unfair as outlawing interracial marriage. Some argue that allowing the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman to be altered will weaken the institution of marriage and that may lead to polygamous, bestial, and other nontraditional relationships the right to marry. But if a closer look is taken at traditional marriage it is clear that it is already threatened with high divorce rates, between 40% and 50%, and with 40% of babies being born to unmarried mothers (Douthat). Claiming that legalizing gay marriage will lead to polygamy and interspecies marriage is outrageous. People who support gay marriage are just asking that two people who love each other are allowed to join together in a legal and emotional way just like any heterosexual couple can do. Two consenting non related adults legally have the right to get married, why must it be a man and a woman? It is about the have and the have nots. Homosexuals are not asking to marry more than one person; they are not asking to marry another species; they are simply asking to marry someone they love who just happened to be the same sex as them. There is no more connection between homosexuality and bestiality or polygamy than heterosexuality and bestiality or polygamy so there should not be an argument saying that legalizing same sex marriage would open the door to those types of things. Traditional marriage is not as pure and strong as many people believe. The stereotypical marriage is