Same-sex Marriage

Before I start my own arguments, I will have to point out that Con has failed to even read my rules for this debate. He started his arguments in round one, when I clearly stated that round one was for acceptance only. Failure to follow my rules again will result in a full 7-point loss. Furthermore I will have to edit my format: Round 1: Pro rules, Con argues. Round 2: Pro argues, Con writes “no arguments and rebuttals as agreed upon.” Round 3: Pro rebuts, Con rebuts. Round 4: Pro rebuts, Con rebuts. I will not rebut in this round. I will save that for round three. Thank you. This way we both get one round for arguments and two rounds for rebuttals. I guarantee this will now be fair. Please read guidelines. ;_; One more thing: I thank Con for being polite as most people I have debated have shown poor conduct earlier in the debate. I will not cut you down in any way, either. Now let's get down to business: My Thesis I will start this off by saying that I believe that it is morally wrong to forbid an entire group of people from marrying who they want. This contradicts the common American dream of equality, freedom, justice, and liberty. As a free country people should be able to make their own decisions unless it infringes upon others. Overall, the biggest key to my argument is the key term that is equality. Because of equality being the biggest belief on why I think same-sex marriages should be legalized, the common argument that all marriages, straight or gay, should be civil unions, is irrelevant. I believe as long as straights can be married, so should gays. If straights were restricted to civil unions, then so should gays. As the Declaration of Independence states every person deserves and should have the right for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I think we can all agree that this country (the United States of America) was founded on freedom, equality, and justice. I will, in this argument, add that the fact that gay marriage isn't allowed contradicts these terms. Not allowing an entire group of people to marry is a violation of humans rights. This encourages major discrimination in its own right. As a country founded on these characteristics I suggest we bring justice to the LGBT community by allowing them the freedom of marriage which will result in marriage equality between homosexuals and heterosexuals alike. Being Homosexual is not a Choice Studies and research suggest that sexuality is determined at a very young age, possibly even at conception. Regardless, all of these studies suggest that everyone's sexuality is beyond their control. The fact that they can't marry someone that they love because of something that is determined at birth and is beyond their control, shows striking similarities to back when blacks were considered slaves to white masters in the 1800s, as well as back when women were seen as a lesser person than men some decades ago. Just as one cannot decide their ethnicity and gender, one cannot decide their sexuality. Gays and lesbians are simply the biggest group being discriminated against currently just as blacks and women used to be. Allowing them to have all of the same rights as straight people will bring justice and equality among all people no matter who they are. Proof that being gay isn't a choice: The brains of gay men are more similar to straight women than they are to straight men.The Hypothalamus is roughly the same size as women. Same goes for lesbian women with straight men. You don't choose how big your organs are... gay men don't choose to have similar brains to straight women and lesbian women to straight men, it is beyond their control. The question is, did you choose to be straight? This validly shows that our sexuality is not a choice. Also, lesbians sex hormones react differently to straight women as do gay men to straight men. Again, this validly shows that our sexuality is not a choice. Civil Unions are Unequal to Marriage First and foremost, civil unions don't even bear the same name as marriage itself. This alone will give the LGBT community the feeling of being outsiders. This shows inequality. Civil unions are not the same as marriage in the other following reasons: [1]: Civil unions are not officially recognized, therefore the rights granted by the union will not travel from state to state, in contrast to actual marriage. This is a grave injustice that should be prevented. [2]: Civil unions are not recognized by 14% of employers. Therefore, 14% of employers will deny their LGB employees full, legally guaranteed marriage benefits. Again this is legally discrimination. Bearing the name 'marriage' will prevent this injustice from happening. (Figures come from New Jersey). It does not Infringe Upon Others As a straight person, how would the legalization of gay marriage affect you? It wouldn't. Opposing gay marriage is simply encouraging discrimination and denying an entire group of human beings basic civil rights A.K.A marriage. Gay marriage benefits LGB people. It doesn't harm nor benefit straight people. Therefore it harms no one. People have the right to choose what they want to do unless it harms or infringes others. This fits that description. LGB People Make Fine Parents Homosexuals and bisexuals make fine parents, contrary to popular belief. Plenty of people claim that a child needs a mother and father figure. I will explain why that counter argument is false. Research has repeatedly shown that same-sex parents are able to parent children just as fine as their heterosexual counterparts. They even have a few advantages. [1]: Studies spread over an entire decade, included 260 children that had both heterosexual mothers or lesbian mothers after divorce, found no differences in intelligence, psychiatric disorders, self-esteem, socialization skills, parental stress, etc., in fact, parts of the studies suggest that in a few places, children of heterosexual parents show more problems. Children who have parents of the same sex did better in the following areas: discipline, self-esteem, less psychosocial difficulties at home and at school. [2]: Another study of 37 children of 27 divorced lesbian mothers and the same number of heterosexual mothers found no difference in behavior, adjustment, gender identity, and peer relationships. Gay People Already Married are Doing Great Similar to my parenting argument. Statistically speaking, gays have equally successful marriages to straights. It would be selfish and homophobic (akin to racism and sexism) not to allow successful, loving marriages. Gay Marriage Would Boost the Economy Same-sex couples are estimated to spend around 685 million dollars on flowers, cakes, hotels, photographers and other wedding services in only three years – so long as voters don't put a halt to gay marriage, according to a study conducted by the Williams Institute at University of California, School of Law. Not only would they spend around 658 million dollars, but the marriage spree will create about 2,200 jobs. 64 million dollars in additional tax revenue plus 9 million dollars in marriage-license fees for counties. http://www.cbsnews.com... http://www.huffingtonpost.com... Last Minutes Contentions I feel it worthy to add that many orphans and children in foster care would likely get adopted by gay and lesbian couples. Imagine the how positively it would affect all those children. A bit more than half of the American population are in favor of gay marriage, so allowing gay marriage will represent the voice of the majority of the people.I put these two together because I don't feel the need to expand upon either contention. Summary of Contentions 1. It's a violation of humans rights. It is also discrimination to not allow one the basic civil right of marriage. 2. Anybody's sexual orientation is not a choice and is beyond their control, gay or straight. 3. Civil unions are not the same as marriage. Marriage can never be replaced. 4. It is not only none of a straight person's business, but it does not harm anyone in any way, but rather benefits homosexuals. 5. Repeated research has shown that gays make equally good parents, sometimes even better. 6. Gay people that are already married are doing as well as any straight person. 7. It would be great for the economy. 8. Many children in need would be adopted into loving families. 9. The majority of people are for it anyway. Thank you to the readers/voters and my opponent for their time. P.S: I'm sorry the font is small and that this is soooo long. I didn't intend for it to be like this. I know this looks unattractive. Case closed. Sources: Being LGB isn't a choice: http://articles.latimes.com... http://www.rense.com... Civil unions compared to marriage: http://www.alternet.org...'t_enough http://data.lambdalegal.org... Same-sex parenting: http://www.frc.org... http://turnstylenews.com... http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/06/28/gayby/index.html http://www.webmd.com... Marriage success for same-sex couples: http://www.nbcchicago.com... http://www.huffingtonpost.com... Most people are in favor of same-sex marriage: http://thehill.com... http://www.huffingtonpost.com...