Gay Marriage Should Be Legal - 1537 Words

In 1967, the United States concluded a controversial battle that seemingly redefined what marriage was. The controversy involved an interracial couple’s right to marry under federal law. In Loving v. Virginia that same year, interracial couples were finally given the right to marry, a landmark decision where civil liberties were finally granted to those deserving. Currently in this country, we are facing another so â€Å"radical redefining of marriage†, the right of same-sex couples to marry. Given date and secular reason, same-sex couples should be allowed to marry and received the full 1,138 federal marriage rights they are denied because of their sexual orientation. The harms weighed against gay marriage are without basis in reality. Claims†¦show more content†¦The merit of this statement is lacking however. Ross Douthat explains that statutes like the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 United States legislation that restricted rights of marriage to op posite-sex couples, are without basis in defining what traditional marriage is and why federal rights are exclusive to opposite-sex couples. Polygamy, prostitution, incest, same-sex, and arranged marriages have been regarded as traditional throughout history and as recent as the 20th century. Douthat elaborates that unnatural is an incorrect term to define same-sex marriage as natural is defined as â€Å"congruent with our biological instincts†. Provided same-sex couples are pursuing marriage for the same reasons heterosexual couples are fulfills the criteria for a natural union. Given the gay orientation is a pre-disposition, while unconfirmed in the field of medicine stands logically as sexual orientation is always a pre-disposition, the Defense of Marriage Act is a piece of legislation that not only violates civil liberties, but harms the very sanctity of marriage itself by restricting it. Evan Wolfson categorized the bill as the â€Å"Discrimination of Marriage Act† as it does more to restrict marriage than defend it. Traditional marriage does not factually, or even traditionally, exist. Tangibly speaking, majority of marriages in the United States, 99%, are heterosexual, but the majority of current unions do nothing to establish a