Marriage Equality

Untitled Slide

• People should be able to love who they want and have the right to have a marriage with them. People don't have the right to tell others who they can & can't marry.

Evidence

• "Proponents contend that gay marriage bans are discriminatory and unconstitutional" (http://gaymarriage.procon.org)
• "Relationships involving one man and one women or that same-sex couples should also be entitled to marriage" (http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/same-sex-marriage.aspx)
• "Everyone should have the chance to realize their hopes and dreams, have the same basic fundamental rights and protections under the law, and be able to celebrate their love as equal members in all aspects of society!" (www.marriageequality.org)
• "The recognition of same-sex marriage is a political, social, human rights and civil rights issue." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/same-sex_marriage)

Against

• ''Unfortunate lifestyle choice resulting from poor child-parent relationships, sexual abuse, brainwashing by pro-gay influences'' (http://borngay.procon.org)

"For the past forty years, serious conversation and debate has surrounded the freedom to marry in the United States. The story of the freedom to marry has its intense ups and its devastating downs, but throughout it all, the discussion has been rooted in the desire for same-sex couples to express their love and commitment to each other in the same way that different-sex couples do: through marriage." (http://www.freedomtomarry.org/pages/history-and-timeline-of-marriage)

On May 18, 1970, two University of Minnesota students, Richard John 'Jack' Baker and James Michael McConnell applied to Hennepin County District Court clerk Gerald Nelson for a marriage license. He denied the application, because the applicants both were men.

1973-"Maryland becomes the first state to pass a statute banning marriage between same-sex couples when it includes in its Family Law Code a line reading, 'Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in this State." (http://gaymarriage.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000030)

"Back on Nov. 21, 1976, in Northwest Washington, [Wayne] Schwandt and [John] Fortunato walked down the aisle side by side, wearing matching embroidered tunics...

Reporters wrote about what Fortunato and Schwandt called a holy union, which was controversial not because there was talk of legalizing gay marriage but because the two men publicly ask for -- and were denied -- the blessing of the Episcopal Church."

"On October 10, 1987, nearly 7,000 people witnessed a wedding on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Men and women cheered and threw rice and confetti as family, friends, and community members took part in the largest mass wedding in American history...

But this was no ordinary wedding. And these were not typical brides and grooms. This wedding held special significance for its participants. Beyond the 'mass' nature of the celebration, something else was unique. The newlyweds that fall Saturday paired off as brides and brides, grooms and grooms. 'The Wedding,' as it came to be known, marked the symbolic beginning of nearly 2,000 same-sex marriages.

The right for marriage equality among genders shall not be limited or restricted