Same sex marriages are not allowed in any state in the United States. Only Vermont legally recognizes same-sex couples by granting civil unions which make them eligible to benefits available to married couples. If America is the epitome of equality- then why are some of its citizens being denied the right to marry whomever they choose? The answer to this question is that most people fear what they do not understand.

Gay marriage is seen is unclean or not right by many of the people who run the country. If this were not true, gay couples would be allowed to marry because the laws would enable them to. In a recent survey of 150 University of Central Florida students, over two-thirds said th

Marriage for same sex couples should be legal because it would build on America’s tradition of moving civil rights forward and erasing the inequities of the past. The fact that same sex couples are excluded from being able to marry does not mean that it has kept up with the majority of American values today. In the same survey of UCF students, it was found that 85% feel that gay and lesbian couples should be accepted by society.

Despite the overwhelming support shown to same-sex couples, the survey found that nearly half of the students surveyed have witnessed or called someone a “faggot”, “dyke” or “homo”. Eighty-eight percent surveyed have used the phrase “that’s so gay” to describe something they dislike. Although there are high percentages of students who feel gays should be accepted, they still hold a stigma against those who are gay.

Many who oppose gay marriage are those who are very religious. But, in the defense of gay couples, no religious ceremony would be required to perform a ceremony. Right now, the government fails to ensure religious freedom when it refuses to honor the unions of same-sex couples performed by one religion the same way it honors those of opposite-sex couples. . The legalization of same-sex marriage would not change the current separation between church and state. No religion would be forced to marry any couple -- as is the case today. While some people may think of marriage as a religious ceremony, the reality is there is a distinction between religious marriage and civil marriage. Civil marriage is the recognition of relationship by a state. State recognition of the relationship includes certain rights and benefits that the state chooses to grant to the two people in this committed relationship. A religious marriage is the recognition of a relationship recognized by a religious organization. R

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