Same Sex Marriage
Essay by people • August 11, 2011 • Essay • 829 Words (4 Pages) • 1,846 Views
Same sex marriage
707,196 are the number of homosexual couples in the U.S. from The American Community Survey 2004. The institution of marriage has been challenged, and homosexual couples have tried to get officially married in recent years. The Federal Government of the United States has even unsuccessfully tried to pass an amendment to the Constitution, which tried to set legal boundaries. It only recognized marriage as between heterosexual couples. For this unrecognized reason, the legalization of homosexual marriage is necessary.
Unfortunately, many people automatically reject the notion of two homosexuals being married for some reason, yet there is the same reason behind the decision. It is because the reason behind not allowing homosexual marriage is very weak and almost non-existent. Some people claim that marriage should only be between a man and a woman because they need the benefits marriage offers in order to have children and successfully raise a family. This is easily countered by the fact that homosexual couples can either choose to adopt or undergo artificial insemination. Some people, on the other hand, are against homosexual marriage as a religion reason. Some religious people claim that being homosexual is a sin, and proof of that can be found in the bible. No matter people believe in the Bible or not, the Bible is not law. The government should not make legislative decisions based on religion, due to the separation of churches and states. This leaves the 'real' reason why lots of people don't want to see homosexual people married. They are simply uncomfortable with it. This reason is unacceptable, and shows the real intent behind the anti-homosexual marriage group. For this reason alone homosexual marriages should be allowed in order to force equality among all people in this country.
However, there is a financial reason for the legalization of homosexual marriage. Married couples are able to enjoy filing their income taxes as married, instead of single. Filing as 'married jointly' can help both people on their tax bill, as income can be combined. Also, if only one partner earns an income, the other person does not have to file as a dependent, instead they are filing as a joint spouse. This saves people lots of money on paying tax. Currently, the I.R.S. (Internal Revenue Service) only recognizes marriage, as a legal union between a man and a woman, so homosexual couples must file as single, decreasing their chance to earn as much tax credit as any other couple living together.
Another large financial benefit to being married has to be their health insurance. This benefit comes when people are able to add their spouses to their health insurance plan at no cost. Of course, you have to be 'legally married' in order to do so. Many couples only have one partner working at a full time job that offers health insurance and thus
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