Marriage is more than a piece of paper. It confers numerous benefits, such as health, disability and life insurance, pension funds and tax refunds for spouses. Many gay couples desire to marry and partake in these benefits but have been denied this right because of their sexuality and that is not fair. According to some individuals, America is the greatest country in the world. It is supposedly filled with opportunities for everyone, not just financially but an opportunity to be free from judgement. This is not true. Everyday, millions of people are denied a right many take for granted. Gay couples in most states cannot marry because it is illegal to marry someone of the same sex and that is not fair.

Marriage is a legal commitment between two consenting adults. It is about sharing, love, trust, and legal status. Two adults who make this private personal choice to form a life-long commitment should not be denied the right to marry just because their sexual orientation. It is illegal to discriminate against gays seeking employment, education or housing. Gays keep communities safe as firefighters and police officers, staff hospitals, and pay taxes. Denying gay couples the right to legally marry takes away their legal rights in receiving employee benefits, government benefits, and other benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy.

A person’s sexuality should not be an obstacle to whether he or she wants to marry someone. A gay person has the same needs and desires as a heterosexual individual. The only difference is the way he or she has sex. If two individuals fall in love and wants the same economic advantages that marriage offers heterosexual couples, they should not be denied that right based on their sexuality.

Although American society denies the right to marriage to gays, it glorifies heterosexuals who make a mockery out of marriage by marrying and divorcing a succession of partners. This practice is called “Serial Monogamy” and it is sickening and very hypocritical of American society to stand judgment on gays for their lifestyles but sanctions heterosexuals who do not have good judgment or common sense. Most people who are opposed to gay marriage often bring up the Bible, saying that the Bible does not condone the gay lifestyle and that marriage is strictly between a man and woman.

However, these same individuals are often involved in extra-marital affairs, are cohabiting without the benefit of marriage or are gay themselves, hiding behind pious words of morality. Gays are just like anyone else and they deserve to partake in the economic advantages that marriage has to offer. Instead of denying the right to marriage to gays, American society should concentrate on fixing the widening economic gap between the wealthy and the poor and figuring out why American society is the laughing stock of the world.