Gay Marriage

Here are my opening statements. I. It's Not A ChoiceII. EqualityIII. Separation of Church and StateIV. Adoption IncreaseV. The EconomyHere we go!I. It's Not A ChoiceI'll start with the actual science and statistics, then I'll talk about the "choice" of being gay with hypothetical situations and questions."Biological gender is set in the first trimester of pregnancy; psychological gender is set in the second, when the child in the womb is exposed to varying levels of testosterone. It"s not a mutation; it"s very much like the genetic regions that determine whether you will have black or brown hair, whether you"ll be tall or short, have dark or light skin, have broad or narrow hips" in other words, it is part of the normal range of normal human sexuality. And across all societies, the percentage of people who are gay remains about the same, at between 5-8% (although there is a difference between the incidence for men and women)." [1]If homosexuality was a choice then why would the percentage around the world be so similar? Because this is something that is predetermined, just like you gender, hair color, eye color, so on.Now for the hypothetical situations and questions. Say you were a man in love with women. Most other people in the world are gay or lesbian. You can't help it. You can't choose to love another man the same way. Just like you can't pick your race, you can't just pick and choose your sexuality.I'm actually a gay woman and if I could, I'd most definitely decide to be straight. But why is that? The prejudice and discrimination against LGBT+ people is unbelievable!"Nearly a fifth of students are physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation and over a tenth because of their gender expression."About two-thirds of LGBT students reported having ever been sexually harassed (e.g., sexual remarks made, being touched inappropriately) in school in the past year.""The average GPA for students who were frequently physically harassed because of their sexual orientation was half a grade lower than that of other students." [2]Would someone really want to be embarrassed, condemned, and harassed due to their sexuality?II. EqualityThe Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." [3] So why don't we grant these unalienable rights? For this part, I'll focus on liberty.Liberty- the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. [4]Should gay couples be barred from marriage? If they are then that's oppression by authority on one's way of life and behavior. Straight couples are allowed to marry freely, so what makes people think that gay couples should be treated as lesser and unable to marry in some parts of the world?III. Separation of Church and StateA common argument of religious people against gay marriage is that it's a sin and The Bible condemns it, so it shouldn't be permitted. But we have the separation of church and state, which is where religious beliefs can't define the government. Amendment I"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." [5]Yes, this amendment prohibits the restriction of religion, but it's also for separation of church and state. "Two clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The establishment clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another. It enforces the 'separation of church and state.' Some governmental activity related to religion has been declared constitutional by the Supreme Court. For example, providing bus transportation for parochial school students and the enforcement of 'blue laws' is not prohibited. The free exercise clause prohibits the government, in most instances, from interfering with a person's practice of their religion." [6]So why did the U.S. prohibit gay marriage in all 50 states up until summer of 2015? It's unconstitutional to do this, as we have separation of church and state. IV. Adoption Increase"In 2009, 69,947 children had parental rights terminated by the courts, yet only 57,466 were adopted... Last year, 29,741 children turned 18 and left the foster care system without being adopted... Nearly 40 percent of American adults, or 81.5 million people, have considered adopting a child, according to the National Adoption Attitudes Survey. If just one in 500 of these adults adopted, every waiting child in foster care would have a permanent family." [7]With the rapid increase of gay marriages, don't you think that more children could find a loving family to care for them? Studies show that same-sex parent as no effects or even positive effects on the child's well-being. [8, 9, 10] A child needs love and if they're able to be given love from capable parents then they should adopt children.V. The EconomyIt sounds odd, but according to some studies, gay marriages would bring in $20 to $40 million in taxes per year. [11] But really, the logic for this is quite simple. More jobs would be created to deal with all the weddings and there are wedding-related purchases needed, like a venue, catering, etc. In fact, there are actual real examples of the economy getting a boost ever since gay marriage became legal in the United States. In New York City alone the economy saw a boost of $259 million. [12] What about other places though? Similar boosts happened in other American states. "The Institute estimates that same-sex couples in Maine will collectively spend $15.5 million, Maryland couples will spend $62.6 million and Washingtonians will spend $88.5 million on weddings. The estimates are based on 2010 U.S. Census data and each state’s average wedding spending. The researchers assumed that half of the states’ same-sex couples (that’s nearly 18,000 of about 35,000 gay couples in all three states combined) will marry within three years." [13]"Economists have followed gay marriage’s impact on the wedding industry and local economies since Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex unions in 2004. The Williams Institute found that from May 2004 to September 2008, the Massachusetts economy enjoyed a $111 million boost as a result of gay marriage legalization." [13]Citations[1]http://www.health24.com.........[2]http://www.pflagnyc.org.........[3]http://www.archives.gov.........[4]http://www.google.com.........[5]https://www.law.cornell.edu......[6]https://www.law.cornell.edu......[7]https://davethomasfoundation.org.........[8]http://www.sciencedirect.com.........[9]http://www.medicaldaily.com.........[10]http://www.medicaldaily.com.........[11]http://www-personal.umich.edu...[12]http://money.cnn.com...[13]http://www.huffingtonpost.com...