Essay on Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage
Everyone would agree that the increase of humanism and tolerance in the society is a positive tendency. At the same time, such tendency leads to the transformation of the society and the changes caused by greater tolerance are often controversial. One of highly controversial social issues is the legalization of same-sex marriage. Some 50 years ago, people could be arrested for having a partner of the same sex. Nowadays the attitudes have changed, and although there still exist many stereotypes, gays and lesbians are finally recognized as equal members of the society along with heterosexual persons. Despite greater tolerance, there are ongoing debates on the legalization of same-sex marriage. The main thesis of this paper is the following: same-sex marriage should be legalized since it will further reduce discrimination of same-sex couples, provide opportunities for realizing their social potential and will strengthen the equality and tolerance in the society in general.
The institution of marriage is changing along with other social institutions in the society. The number of countries and states where same sex marriage was legalized is increasing. By the end of 2011, 10 countries and 7 states legalized same-sex marriages (Chamie & Mirkin, 2011). Such legal changes contribute to the promotion of non-discrimination in the society and enhance social equality. Indeed, a family is defined as the fundamental social group usually consisting of two parents and their children (Meezan & Rauch, 2005) or a group of two or more people sharing goals and values and having long-term commitments (Clarke & Finlay, 2004). Most of the definitions of family do not require partners to have different genders; children can be adopted or born using in-vitro fertilization or the help of surrogate mother. Therefore, legalizing same-sex marriage will help such families to become equal in rights with traditional families. Such equality will promote better psychological, social and physical well-being of same-sex couples.
The children who are reared in same-sex couples will also benefit from legalization of same-sex marriage because they will be able to receive adequate social support and protection. Furthermore, such children will perceive their parents and families as an integral part of the society; such changes of perception will contribute to greater social tolerance and equality in the future. Furthermore, the legalization of same-sex marriages will also have positive economic consequences for LGBT couples and for the country in general. Indeed, same-sex partners will be able to optimize their taxes and combine their earnings; they will get access to spousal health insurance, joint retirement investments, etc. According to Clarke & Finlay (2004), federal budget and local budgets will also benefit from the legalization of same-sex marriage in the long-term perspective due to the reduction of cash assistance requests and Medicare spending.
There are several key arguments used by the opponents of same-sex marriages. The first and foremost argument is the negative impact of same-sex families on children. According to Muhlestein (2007), the argument against same-sex marriage is that it is damaging the traditional institution of family. The research of Joslin (2011) shows that marriage has an equally positive effect on financial well-being and on the stability and durability of the relationship between spouses. Furthermore, it was determined that children in same-sex families demonstrate similar development, social skills and life satisfaction compared to children from traditional families. Joslin (2011) states that the key factor influencing the well-being of children in same-sex families was the presence of prejudiced attitude to such non-traditional family: the lower the rate of prejudice was, the smaller was the difference between well-being of children from same-sex families and traditional families.
Another major argument against the legalization of same-sex marriage is the suggestion that it will encourage young people to choose same-sex partners and therefore will affect the processes of natural reproduction in the society. However, it is shown that both genetics and society influence the choices of homosexual people (Chamie & Mirkin, 2011); in other words, the tendency to choose same-sex partners is driven by biological characteristics of a human being. The environment might indeed increase the chances for a child with LGBT inclination to engage in same-sex relationships. However, the legalization of same-sex marriages will help to reduce the ongoing debate about the discrimination of LBGT people and will help them to integrate in the society. This means in particular that the legalization of same-sex marriage will lead to the decrease of attention to LGBT questions and therefore children will be exposed to less information pertaining to LGBT than nowadays. In such circumstances, children will be more likely to follow their natural preferences than in the situation of the ongoing social debate and increased social attention to homosexuality.
Therefore, it is necessary to legalize same-sex marriage in order to make the society more equal, more efficient and more tolerant. In this case, same-sex couples will have the rights comparable with the rights of traditional couples. Same-sex families and children growing in these families will be better off due to the legalization of same-sex marriages, and there will be economic benefits influencing the whole society. Furthermore, the research of Joslin (2011) refutes the key argument of the opponents of same-sex marriage: it was shown that the well-being of children in same-sex families is the same as that of children in traditional families, and can be decreased mostly by the stereotypes pertaining to same-sex families. The legalization of same-sex marriage will help to eliminate these stereotypes and therefore improve the well-being of children in these families. In addition, such decision will reduce the attention paid by the public to the questions of same-sex relationships and therefore reduce the potential impact of LGBT information on personal choices of young people. Therefore, due to the perceived positive effects on the society same-sex marriage should be legalized in the United States and worldwide.
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