Gay Marriage Pro. Con. org. Denying some people the option to marry is discriminatory and creates a second class of citizens. Getting married in Los Angeles County Before you say I do, you need to obtain a marriage license to make your union official. Heres everything you need to know. On July 2. 5, 2. 01. Miami Dade County Circuit Court Judge Sarah Zabel ruled Floridas gay marriage ban unconstitutional and stated that the ban serves only to hurt, to discriminate, to deprive same sex couples and their families of equal dignity, to label and treat them as second class citizens, and to deem them unworthy of participation in one of the fundamental institutions of our society. Christine Gregoire, former Washington governor, said in Jan. Throughout our history, we have fought discrimination. We have joined together to recognize equality for racial minorities, women, people with disabilities, immigrants. Legalizing gay marriage is the right thing to do and it is time. US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner, in overturning same sex marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana in Sep. As well as discrimination based on sexual orientation, gay marriage bans discriminate based on ones sex. As explained by David S. Cohen, JD, Associate Professor at the Drexel University School of Law, Imagine three peopleNancy, Bill, and Tom. Nancy, a woman, can marry Tom, but Bill, a man, cannot. The Massachusetts Legislature approves a constitutional amendment, 105 to 92, to ban gay marriage and establish civil unions for samesex couples. Nancy can do something marry Tom that Bill cannot, simply because Nancy is a woman and Bill is a man. Same sex couples should have access to the same benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. There are 1,1. 38 benefits, rights and protections available to married couples in federal law alone, according to a General Accounting Office assessment made in 2. Benefits only available to married couples include hospital visitation during an illness, the option of filing a joint tax return to reduce a tax burden, access to family health coverage, US residency and family unification for partners from another country, and bereavement leave and inheritance rights if a partner dies. Married couples also have access to protections if the relationship ends, such as child custody, spousal or child support, and an equitable division of property. Married couples in the US armed forces are offered health insurance and other benefits unavailable to domestic partners. The Internal Revenue Service IRS and the US Department of Labor also recognize married couples, for the purpose of granting tax, retirement and health insurance benefits. The US federal government does not grant equivalent benefits to gay couples in civil unions or domestic partnerships. An Oct. 2, 2. 00. New York Times estimated that same sex couples denied marriage benefits will incur an additional 4. A Jan. 2. 01. 4 analysis published by the Atlantic concluded that unmarried women pay up to one million dollars more over their lifetimes than married women for healthcare, taxes, and other expenses. The concept of traditional marriage has changed over time, and the definition of marriage as always being between one man and one woman is historically inaccurate. Harvard University historian Nancy F. HennCo3.jpg' alt='Marriage License Civil Ceremony Los Angeles' title='Marriage License Civil Ceremony Los Angeles' />Cott stated that until two centuries ago, monogamous households were a tiny, tiny portion of the worlds population, and were found only in Western Europe and little settlements in North America. Polygamy has been widespread throughout history, according to Brown University political scientist Rose Mc. Dermott, Ph. D. Interracial marriage was once illegal in a majority of US states, and was still banned in half of US states until the 1. Official unions between same sex couples, indistinguishable from marriages except for gender, are believed by some scholars to have been common until the 1. Century in many countries, with the ceremonies performed in churches and the union sealed with a kiss between the two parties. Gay marriage is protected by the US Constitutions commitments to liberty and equality. The US Supreme Court ruled 7 2 in the 1. Cleveland Board of Education v. La. Fleur that the freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause. US District Judge Vaughn Walker wrote on Aug. Prop. 8 in California banning gay marriage was unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. The Due Process Clause in both the Fifth and 1. Amendments of the US Constitution states that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. The Equal Protection Clause in the 1. I&Amp there. Amendment states that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Marriage is an internationally recognized human right for all people. Since 1. 88. 8 the US Supreme Court has declared 1. American Foundation for Equal Rights. Article 1. 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion. Marriage License Civil Ceremony Los Angeles' title='Marriage License Civil Ceremony Los Angeles' />They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. Amnesty International states that this non discrimination principle has been interpreted by UN treaty bodies and numerous inter governmental human rights bodies as prohibiting discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. Non discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation has therefore become an internationally recognized principle. Same sex marriage is a civil right. The NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, on May 2. In 1. 96. 7 the US Supreme Court unanimously confirmed in Loving v. Virginia that marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man. The White House website lists same sex marriage amongst a selection of civil rights, along with freedom from employment discrimination, equal pay for women, and fair sentencing for minority criminals. Marriage is not only for procreation, otherwise infertile couples or couples not wishing to have children would be prevented from marrying. Ability or desire to create offspring has never been a qualification for marriage. From 1. 97. 0 through 2. US households were married couples without children, and in 2. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a 2. 01. 0 Pew Research Center survey, both married and unmarried people rated love, commitment, and companionship higher than having children as very important reasons to get married, and only 4. Several US presidents never had their own biological children, including George Washington, often referred to as the Father of Our Country. As US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan noted, a marriage license would be granted to a couple in which the man and woman are both over the age of 5. Gay marriages can bring financial gain to federal, state, and local governments and can help boost the economy. Government revenue from marriage comes from marriage licenses, higher income taxes in some circumstances the so called marriage penalty, and decreases in costs for state benefit programs. Wifi Adapter For Directv Dvr'>Wifi Adapter For Directv Dvr. In July 2. 01. 2 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that gay marriage had contributed 2. July 2. 01. 1. In 2. Williams Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles UCLA found that in the first five years after Massachusetts legalized gay marriage in 2. A 2. 01. 4 series of reports also by the Williams Institute estimated that legalizing same sex marriage would boost the economies of the 1. US states studied by a total of 7. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2. Gay couples make good parents.