Throughout history you can see that the Americans have always seemed to think they were better than someone else in one way or another. It started when our ancestors came to America from Europe. Did we not think that the Indians were savages? They were the ones who were not smart enough to rip apart and civilize the land. After that it was the Africans that were not good enough for the white man. We had to enslave them and turn them into possessions to be bought and traded, and thrown out like yesterday's trash when work was not tolarable. Asians, Jews, Irish, and even the physically and mentally handicapped have all had their share of discrimination. But in our society the laws make it difficult to discriminate. We have determined that gays can not be discriminated against in jobs, housing and the like. But marriage, perhaps understandably, has been placed off limits to them. In the two opposing essays the authors have both given reasons why gays should or should not be given the right to be married. .
The essay Let Gays Marry by Andrew Sullivan states many reasons why the American government should allow gay couples to be married. One reason Sullivan states is that "They [gays] are citizens, entitled, like everyone else, to equal protection- no special rights, but simple equality."(Sullivan p.466) Homosexuals are people too, just like their heterosexual counterparts, and everyone should be granted the chance to marry the person they see fit. These men and women want to marry for the same reason everyone else does. They just want to share their love and support with one another. Sullivan also brings up the argument of raising families. If the only purpose of marriage were for procreation, then some would have a valid argument. However, marriage is a great deal more than that. You can ask any happily married couple. Although the strongest point Sullivan brings up is the fact that as times change, we have always changed the laws to work around the ever-changing community.
