In Ann Quindlen's, "Evan's Two Moms", Quindlen gives several examples as to why gay adoptions and marriages should be legal. The article's examples stem from the way society looks at gay relationships and marriages and the definition by which our society defines marriage. She starts off by telling about a situation where gay adoption was excepted. In her first paragraph she states that, " a judge in New York approved an adoption of a six-year-old by his biological mother's lesbian partner"(410). She then goes on to talk about the negative judgment society imposes on gay marriages in society. She lists an event that occurred when a lawyer had her job offer withdrawn after a state attorney found out that she and her lover were planning a marriage ceremony. Quindlen goes on to tell about the rights that straight couples have and take for granted versus the fact that gay couples are being denied those rights. Rights such as being able to file jointly on tax returns, health insurance coverage for an insured partner and no survivor's benefits from Social Security. She goes on to point out even more about the negative way society treats gay relationships and how gays feel about it, she gives a brief example about a couple applying for a family membership to the Y in Madison Wisconsin and being turned down because they were both women. Implying that, " something as small as that can make you small"(411). Quindlen tells how the Bible was an influence on the definition of what marriage is; "marriage is by definition the union of a man and a woman" (411). She states that religion shouldn't be forced upon anyone, "No religion should be forced to marry anyone in violation of it's tenets"(411). Quindlen compares the legalizing of gay marriages today to the struggles of interracial marriages in the past. She focuses on the case of Loving v. Virginia as an example, a judge suspended a year sentence of Richard Loving, who was white, and his wife, Mildred, who was black, provided they got out of the state of Virginia.
