Equal Rights for All.
In 1779 a law was proposed by one of our country’s founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, that stated gay men would be castrated and gay women would have their noses mutilated. That law was proposed in 1779 but it was not until 1965 that the first march for gay rights took place. One hundred eighty years later. Gays have come a long way to earn the rights they deserve (Head). During the time of the 1950’s activism for gay rights of any kind was extremely dangerous. In 1951 the first pro gay organization formed was a very small group of homosexual men who protected themselves by using street comedy which revealed flaws of characters representing societal norms (Head). In 1993 Hawaii allowed same sex marriage, but soon after the law was over turned. In 1998 past President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13087. Executive Order 13087 basically said that the Federal Government cannot discriminate based on a persons sexual orientation inside of a work place (Head). This is seen as a huge step forward for the gay community giving them the knowledge that they don’t have to worry about being abused in any form in their place of work. As wonderful of a step forward as that signing was they still have to worry about making ends meet with their spouse and child if they were to form a family. Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same sex marriage. Statistics say by gender forty one percent of men favor same sex marriage and fifty four percent oppose. Women are almost fifty-fifty with forty-seven percent favoring and forty-six percent opposing gay marriage. By political party, republicans have eighty three percent opposing and only fourteen percent favoring; Democrats are sixty percent in favor of gay marriage and thirty three opposed. Nationally only thirty percent of people are in favor of and sixty two percent are against same sex marriage. Statistics also show that younger people around ages eighteen to thirty are for gay marriage and older people over sixty five are against it (Seattle Times). Between 1995 and 2002 one thousand five hundred twenty six gays joined together as partners in the United States.
In an interview with David Hudson who is a gay man and also a nurse educator for Carolinas Health Care System says that he “Feels very isolated, not lonely, but very alone because of peoples response to my homosexuality”, when it comes to the issues for gay rights. David has a son from a former marriage to a woman and said, “If my wife was to bring up the fact I was gay in the courts during the divorce proceedings I would not have legal rights to my son. I may have never been able to see him.” In North Carolina the law states that a homosexual parent has no legal rights as a parent in a custody case. David says that gays have come a long way, but “North Carolina isn’t San Francisco. Our activism isn’t as in your face like the civil rights movement.” David says that he believes one of the biggest issues in North Carolina regarding gay rights, especially marriage, is the long standing conservative political views as evidenced by the multiple terms of representatives like Jesse Helms. When asked if North Carolina has improved in its views of gay rights Mr. Hudson who is six feet and four inches tall and weighs two hundred eighty five pounds replied “We’ve come a long way, but I still won’t walk down the street holding a mans hand for fear of my safety and the safety of my family.” Mr. Hudson then added “I like to think choosing this as the topic for your paper will not affect your grade, but I’m concerned that it might.”
Joy Spring and Carla Barbano have been together for seven years. Like many couples, they are excitedly anticipating their wedding day, but it has to wait until Governor Deval Patrick signs a bill that will repeal the 1913 law that will not let homosexual couples marry in Massachusetts if they have not established a residence in the state. That is how many homosexual couples spend time; They wait for laws to be passed that give them a right to live and love like everybody else in this country. Only two states in this country allow gay marriage; Massachusetts, and Connecticut. For a short period of time gay marriage was legal in California, but because of the recent passing of Proposition 8 it is no longer an option for homosexual couples to marry in the state of California. Vermont is on its way to being the third state to allow same sex couples to marry legally. Vermont was the first state in our nation to allow civil unions, and if the law allowing gay marriage is passed it will be the first state to allow same sex marriage without court intervention because of someone filing a law suit first. Republican, Jim Douglas governor of Vermont says he opposes the bill and does not know if he will veto it if it gets to him. Although several states have civil unions for homosexual couples, the couples are still being deprived of the right to marry and the many advantages that come with the institution of marriage. The argument that gay marriage is a “historical contradiction” and should therefore not be allowed, ignores the fact that historically, laws have been changed as times change (Vestal). At one time women and slaves were considered property (Vestal). Now women have the right to vote and no one is a slave in this country, blacks can now own property, vote and do anything a white man can do. Had those laws not changed, the United States would not be the great nation it is today. Some people believe that the state taxpayers should not fund the financial benefits of gay couples (Sprigg). Gay couples should not be denied any benefits that their heterosexual counterparts are allowed. A gay person is expected to pay the same tax rates and suffer the same criminal sentences as heterosexuals do. They do the same jobs for the same companies that offer benefits, yet are denied the rights to those benefits, unlike their heterosexual counterparts.
Some of the states that are allowing gay partners to adopt children are also the same states banning same-sex marriage and civil unions (Padgett). Some states, such as Florida, prohibit homosexuals from adopting (Padgett). The conservative group Focus on Family states that gay adoption is harmful to the child (Padgett). However, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Child Welfare League of America cite research that states children raised with homosexual parents fare as well as those raised in a traditional family (Padgett). There are more than twelve thousand children abandoned in this country and in need of a home (Padgett). Child welfare organizations are banding together to have legislation passed allowing any qualified parent to adopt regardless of sexual orientation (Padgett). In 2006 the Pew Center Poll was taken. It stated that thirty-eight percent of Americans supported gay adoption in 1999. The same poll showed that in 2006, support was at forty-six percent. This proves that support is on the rise. The opposing side fell from fifty-seven percent to forty-eight percent (Padgett). Other states such as Colorado have banned same sex marriage, but Colorado has given the right for a gay couple to adopt a child. Some say that the reason the bill that was passed in Colorado to allow same sex adoption is that the bill was a second partner adoption bill. Which means that a heterosexual unmarried couple can adopt a child together(Padgett). There are many states including The District of Columbia, that have second partner adoption, which also allows gay partners to adopt. All of those states have taken a different view on same sex marriage. Yet the only state in the country that bans same sex adoption under every situation is Florida (Padgett). With so many children in need, it would be cruel to refuse them a home with two loving parents based on sexual orientation. With marriage by gays being viewed as something that can not benefit society, certainly allowing them to give a home to one of the thousands of abandoned children out there should be considered a much needed benefit to our society. Many argue that gays shouldn’t adopt a child, but a couple that can’t produce a child naturally can adopt just because they are heterosexual.
In many same-sex couples both of the partners have to be able to work full time to secure health insurance for both of them (Armour). Today holding a job may be harder than it was 10 years ago for some gay families as it is for most other families. If only one of the partners has a full time job and health insurance their spouse or child does not benefit in anyway because of the fact they are not heterosexual and can not get married in most states. One person in a heterosexual married couple can hold a job and their health insurance can cover them and their spouse and children. Due to the fact that most same-sex couples are not married but some are in a civil union most don’t get health care benefits for their partner (Armour). Also if a homosexual couple could adopt they would need to spend extra money to others to provide care for their child because if they both had to hold a job neither of them would be home to take care of their newly adopted child. If you do not have health care benefits for your significant other it is almost like making a smaller salary. A lot of people take jobs not only for how good the salary might be but also for the fringe benefits and insurance and if a homosexual couple can’t have the same benefits they are forced to take money out of their own pockets to pay for any health problems that their spouse or child may have. That’s not fair to gay domestic partners because they are spending their own money to care for someone they love while the heterosexual couples employed by the same company have insurance to cover their spouse in the event of a medical need. There are only twenty-three percent of companies in the United States that offer benefits for same sex couples (Armour). Some of the rights that they are denied in health care consist of: Homosexual domestic partners cannot take leave if their partner falls ill, and if the partners were lucky enough to adopt a child there are very few companies that let one of the spouses put their child on their health care insurance (Armour). One couple that suffers due to health care benefits and insurance is Mike Holloman and Tim Surratt. Mikes job has domestic partnership benefits but states that Tim and the couples adopted son Tommy cannot be put on Mikes insurance because they all have to live together for more than two years for Tim and Tommy to actually benefit from Mikes health insurance there is no time restriction for heterosexual couples covered under the same insurance plan, as soon as the couple are married, the spouse and any children are immediately covered.
In a traditional heterosexual married couple when one of them dies the other (survivor) gets a pension among other possible benefits. Usually Social Security death benefits or retirement savings plans. Most of the time homosexuals don’t have access to their spouses money after death, any benefits such as pension plans and retirement plans are lost. Even though in most couples when someone dies their money goes to their family and loved ones, but since they are gay and many are in civil unions a spouse in a homosexual relationship has no rights to have the money of their deceased loved one. If this gay married couple was able to adopt a child and one of these parents died the survivor would not be able to have the money that their partner had earned and left to them, and their child might also not be allowed access to that money and may not be taken care of as easily as in a heterosexual marriage. This is why gays need these rights. They are every bit as capable to do what non-gays do, but they are being deprived of these rights. To be allowed to live as other citizens of the United States of America live, the not only deserve, but need these rights. It is constitutionally not right to deprive them of the same rights others are given simply because of who they choose to spend their lives with. In a normal family usually a wife, husband, and between one and three children have adequate coverage. The mother and father would both work and most likely live in a fairly nice house with their children. If either the mother or father were to die, that person would most likely have left money for his spouse and children. In a homosexual couples family it’s a man and a man (or woman and woman) and if they happened to have been lucky enough to live in one of the states that allows homosexual couples to adopt a child, they may have children. If one of the spouses died and in their will everything they had was left to their lover and child to take care of them there is a guarantee that they will not receive any money due them from federal benefits such as social security ,or in the event that the deceased spouse was an employee of the federal government ,their pension. Even though its left to them the government will keep the money.
In conclusion, The Declaration of Independence states that all men are equal with certain inalienable rights. Gays are deprived of many of the rights that they should have based on the Declaration of Independence. The fact is that if a homosexual decides to marry the government takes away any death benefits, health insurance, and the right to adopt a child. These are rights that every other American citizen has. If an individual is expected to pay the same federal, state and local taxes, pay the same amount into Social Security, pay the same amount for property tax, work the same jobs for the same amount of money and obey the same laws as every other citizen of this country, they should be endowed with the same rights no matter what their sexual orientation these rights should be granted to all people of the United States. We are all endowed with the same inalienable rights, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Who is to say what happiness is to anyone? To many homosexuals happiness is having the right to marry the person they love and spend their life building a home and raising a family just as every other person in this country can.
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