Legalization
of Gay marriage in the US
Homosexuality is not a sin; it is a way of life people adopt to
live by. Homosexuals are humans just like me and you, and they deserve the same
sense of equality that we as humans deserve and demand. However in several
societies across the globe I notice people do not accept homosexuals as a part
of their culture and livelihood, but on the brighter side, world superpowers
are now beginning to acknowledge their right to equality and giving them a new
sense of pride and freedom. Yes, I am talking about legalization of same sex
marriage in the United States of America.
The United States has become the twenty first and most populous
country to legalize same sex marriage. Homosexuality, seen as a taboo and a
state of mental illness in several societies is now being accepted by a
superpower nation such as the United States, this has proved to be a huge win
for the gay community since US, directly or indirectly, always has an impact on
developing nations which have often taken the same route towards development.
But the question that arises here is would other societies accept same sex
marriages the way US just did?
In cultures influenced by Abrahamic religions, the church and
the law established sodomy as a crime against nature, the reason that
homosexuals have often been a suppressed class of people all this while.
However many historical figures such as Socrates, have been linked to
homosexuality. But when we look at the statistics, we see that homosexuality
has existed ever since the creation of mankind, but it is in the 20th
century that we are open enough to talk about the issue publically. It is now
that we see a gay couple accepting each other with pride in front of the world.
According to some researches, it has been brought to light that a person
exhibits homosexual behavior because they are either born or brought up that
way, but since every coin has two sides, some conflict to these theories and
have a perception of homosexuality to be a form mental illness and in some
cases ‘unnatural’.
But if I think of this as a human, I believe that the only thing
that should matter in a marriage is love, and if someone loves a person from
the same gender, this should not make the person an instrument of
discrimination. When we talk about giving freedom to the citizens of our
country, they should be given the freedom to choose the person they wish to
spend the rest of their life with, irrespective of the sex they belong to.
Marriage is an internationally recognized human right for all people and
denying some people to marry is discriminatory and creates a second class of
citizens. Also a very commonly debated view that marriage is meant for
procreation goes down the drain otherwise infertile couples or couples not
wishing to have children should also be prevented from marrying. Instead
legalizing same sex marriages would drastically influence the adoption rate of
young, homeless children. Also gay couples prove to be better parents, according
to a recent study by University of Melbourne. According to another study by
UCLA’s Williams Institute, same sex marriages prove to be more stable than
heterosexual marriages and gay marriage legalization is correlated with lower
divorce and abortion rates. All in all, gay marriages do not hurt the society
or sentiments of any being in particular, so why ban it?
The US Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same sex marriage is
being celebrated throughout the world now. Every day I notice updated profiles
pictures with multicolored backgrounds supporting the cause. Many people argue
the reason of celebrating something that is happening in a country thousands of
miles away, the answer is very simple. It is the beginning of a revolution,
this is the first step towards decriminalization of homosexuality, that too
taken by a world superpower nation. United States has always had an impact on
other nations and societies; we hope this brings out a ripple of positive
response for homosexuals throughout the globe. It would be a delighted sight to
see conservative societies giving space to gay marriages. After all homosexuals
are humans like us, and they deserve the same rights that we deserve.
-Siddhant
