Same-Sex Couples Ought to Receive the Same Legal Rights Available to Married Heterosexual Couples

Hey everyone, this is my first debate on this site. Looking forward to many more! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Resolved: Same-Sex Couples Ought to Receive the Same Legal Rights Available to Married Heterosexual Couples Affirmed. Before we begin, I would like to present the following observations: 1. These same-sex couples would have to engage in something like a civil union or domestic partnership in order to receive these rights. 2. The resolution asks solely about the legal rights entailed by marriage; not about same-sex marriage itself. While I support gay marriage, this debate is about rights, not about the definition of marriage. 3. The rights that the resolution speaks of include: -Joint adoption -Joint property ownership -Hospital visitation rights -Inheritance of property and fortune after one partner's death -All of the other rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples in a marriage Contention One: Same-Sex Unions Have No Affect On Anyone Other Than the Two People Involved and their Families The only parties effected by same-sex unions are the two adults who have explicitly agreed to partake in the union and their children (if applicable). The only rights being effected are those of these adults. The rights of heterosexual couples are in no way being compromised or taken away. Contention Two: Same-Sex Unions Make it Easier for Same-Sex Couples to Adopt Children In nearly, if not every state in the U.S., in order for a person to receive joint custody of a child, they must go through a long series of petitions and court hearings that often do not work out, unless that person is involved in a marriage or marriage equivalent with the person that has custody of the child. Therefore, if a same-sex couple is raising a child and the party with custody of the child were to die or become unable to raise him/her, that person's partner, not being recognized as a legal guardian, would have no legal right to raise their child, who would have to be taken away, thus taking a child away from their parents and put into the foster care system or into another family. Moreover, same-sex couples are inherently less inclined to adopt if they cannot have joint custody of the children for reasons such as the one aforementioned. Even if it is best for a child to grow up in a household with a mother and a father (which it may or may not be, as the current available research is contradictory), it is inarguable that a lack of parents (or a presence of abusive parents) is the worst possible situation for a child. Same-sex unions promote the well-being of children by increasing the number of stable, loving, responsible parents in the world. Contention Three: Granting Rights to Heterosexual Couples but not to Same-Sex Couples is Blatant Discrimination Same-sex couples are equally as loving and committed as heterosexual couples. Because these relationships are composed of the same essential ingredients, to deny same-sex couples the same essential rights is discrimination on the basis of a non-arbitrary factor: sexual orientation. Treating a person, or an aspect of a person's life, unfairly based on a factor outside of their control is essentially the definition of discrimination, and this is precisely what disallowing same-sex unions to occur is promoting. For these reasons, I urge you to vote in the favor of the Pro side. Thank you, and I look forward to my opponent's response.