Gays and lesbians lives have been for a long time a controversial subject; specially when for the last few decades gays and lesbians have come out and expressed their sexuality preferences. I believe same sex marriage should be legalized because, first of all, gays and lesbians deserve the same rights as heterosexuals. Another reason to legalize it is that children that are born under a gay or lesbian couple will be raised in a family that is legally recognized by the law.Many people believe that same sex marriage should not be legalized because it is against the moral. 1 They maintain that legalizing same-sex marriage would force Americans to accept behavior of which the majority does not approve. They believe that it is against the definition of marriage, which is 2 " a legal union of one man and one as woman as husband and wife ". They believe that it will promote promiscuity. 3 There is a lot of misunderstanding about what homosexuality and even what marriage itself really is. The stereotype has it that gays are promiscuous.1- " Gay Marriage ", At Issue, An Opposing Viewpoints Series. Page no. 72- " Gay Marriage ", At Issue, An Opposing Viewpoints Series. Page no. 63- " Gay Marriage ", At Issue, An Opposing Viewpoints Series. Page no. 23-24And gays do have such relationships, but like in a straight society where such relationships also exist, they are all minorities; and exist primarily among the very young. On the contrary, it will promote responsibility and family values. 4 Same-sex marriage would award gays new legal and economics rights, among them joint parental custody, insurance and health benefits, joint tax returns, alimony and child support, inheritance of property, hospital visitation rights, a spouse's social security and retirement benefits, family leave, confidentiality of conversations and the right to decide what to do with a partner's body after death. Same sex marriage is nothing more that the union of two people that care, love, and want to make commitments to each other. Those commitments cannot be recognized unless same sex marriage is legalized.Lesbians and gay men choose to become parents for the same reasons heterosexuals do: to import their love, their knowledge and their heritages to their children. 5 Most of the studies have compared the development of children raised by gay fathers or/and lesbian mothers with the development of children raised by heterosexual parents. These studies show that: a-Not a single study showed any difference in the children's level of emotional adjustment, whether raised by heterosexual or gay parents.4- " Marriage and Divorce", May 10, 1996. vol. 6, no. 18, page 420-4215- " Gay Marriage ", At Issue, An Opposing Viewpoints Series. Page no.c- Children raised by gay parents were no more or less likely to be homosexual than other children.b-Boys showed no differences in tendency toward masculine behavior, mannerisms or interests, and girls showed no differences in femininity.Throughout history, many beliefs and values have changed. For instance, black people were not considered as citizens and they were treated brutally. Luckily, after a long time of black people fighting for their rights, most of the people realized that they are black people are human beings just like they are. It takes time but values and beliefs can change. After all they are also human beings with just a different sexual preference from the majority.The legalization of same sex marriage is more a problem of changing the way society views it. It is clear that values and beliefs have changed through time, and that is part of evolution. It would have been impossible to talk about same sex marriage fifty years ago because society was not ready for that. It is time to give gays and lesbians the right they deserve. Family is the most valuable thing in anybody's life. Gays and lesbians cannot be refused the right to form a family because of their sexual preferences.
