Gay Marriage

Thank you for accepting and good luck to you as well. I will stand on the side for gay marriage, morally and legally. You may present your religious argument if you would like. Homosexual: A person sexually attracted to persons of the same sex. Homosexuals include males (gays) and females (lesbians). http://www.medterms.com... marriage-the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce) wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn Homosexuals are continually denied civil rights in this nation. Marriage, adoption, the right to openly serve in the military, and the benefits that come with a marriage. Homosexuals have been given the right to a civil union, but a civil union is not of equal value as a marriage. Homosexuals are fighting for the right to marry, not just for the rights, but to show their love for each other in front of their families and loved ones. Homosexuality is a genetic condition, and by denying homosexuals rights based on a genetic condition equivalent to depriving African Americans of their rights. Our nation realized it's mistake it made against African Americans, yet it continually discriminates homosexuals. Michael Bailey, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University in Illinois, comes from studies of genetically male infants born with malformed or ambiguous genitals. In many such cases, surgeons would construct a vagina, and instruct parents to raise the child as a girl, with no knowledge of his medical history. As adults, those prenatally male/postnatally female people were virtually all attracted to women, Bailey said. "If you can't make a male attracted to other males by cutting off his penis, castrating him and rearing him as a girl, then how likely is any social explanation of male homosexuality?" he said. http://www.guardian.co.uk... _________________________________________________________________________________________________ My opponent will likely argue that many religions frown upon homosexuality, but homosexuals are denied the right to marry on a federal level, where there is a seperation of church and state. The first amendment prohibits the U.S. Congress from making laws that "respect an establishment of religion." Yet, the GOVERNMENT forbids homosexuals from receiving the religious sacrament of marriage. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Homosexual relationships are not immoral. Immoral based on religion? Yes, but again there is the seperation of church and state. "There's no reason that the government should prevent homosexuals from entering civil marriages because some religions object to the concept, any more than the government should ban atheism because some religions object to it." - Lisa Pampuch - newspaper columnist _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Homosexuals are only offered a fraction of the one thousand and forty-nine benefits with a civil union that heterosexual couples are offered with a marriage. Homosexuals are denied hospital visitation, healthcare, the ability to collect benefits upon death of a spouse, the ability to sue for wrongful death, and the entitlement to joint title on property. These rights are only given in the states that allow homosexuals the opportunity of a civil union or the right to marry, however, these rights are not recognized on the federal level. In some of the states that allow civil unions and the right to marry, the couple can file jointly for state taxes. On the federal level, homosexuals cannot file jointly because the relationship is not recognized.