Imagine meeting and falling in love with the man or woman of your dreams. You care about this beautiful person dearly and you want to spend the rest of your life with him or her. Now imagine that you can’t marry this person simply because of something like their race, religion or gender. This injustice is a problem that many gay and lesbian Americans have to face. Gay marriage is illegal in almost every state in the United States. Gay marriage should be legal because gays should be able to pursue their happiness and they should get equal treatment under the law. The legalization of gay marriage will also redefine marriage to fit with an ever changing American lifestyle.
Many Americans dream of one day falling in love and getting married, but what happens when that dream is crushed because it is illegal to marry the person they fall in love with? Many gay Americans feel disillusioned because they feel that the United States isn’t being true to it’s own Declaration of Independence, which states that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right. If gay marriage becomes legal, then gay Americans all over the country will be granted an equal opportunity alongside heterosexuals in pursuing their happiness.
However, because gay marriage is illegal, homosexual couples aren’t being given the same rights as heterosexual couples. Gay couples should be extended the same rights as heterosexual couples get, otherwise it is discrimination. Julian Bond, former chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, states that prohibitions on same-sex marriage are discriminatory. He also states that gay rights are civil rights, and all Americans should have the right to marry the person of their choice, whatever their sexual orientation. Julian Bond also compared the gay rights movement to the African-American civil rights movement, saying that sexuality, like race, is a condition people are born with and cannot change. If gay marriage becomes legal, then the United States can be true to the message stated in the Declaration of Independence.
However, some argue that gay marriage shouldn’t be legal because it will redefine the meaning of the word marriage, meaning a union between one man and one woman. However, the definitions of words change all the time. There was a time that the word gay meant merry, happy or bright. Now the word gay is used to describe someone who is attracted to member of their same gender. Nobody argued to save the original definition of the word gay, why keep the definition of the word marriage? It’s okay to change the meaning of the word marriage to refer to any union, be it between a man and a woman, two men, or two women, because the definitions of words are always changing, and it is something normal that happens in all languages.
The fact that gay marriage is illegal is difficult for me to fathom. If gay marriage becomes legalized in America, then we can live in a country that is free of discrimination under the law and a country where everybody can choose to pursue their version of “The American Dream”. Everyone will be happier living in a society like this. I only hope one day I can find true happiness with the one I love.
