Same-Sex Couples Are Getting Married in America

Gay couples no longer wish to be tolerated. Many television shows such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Will and Grace, and Queer as Folk, prove that mainstream society has accepted their existence. But mere acknowledgment is no longer enough. They want the same rights that all Americans have and one of those rights is marriage.

Gay couples want to be legally married for many reasons. Powers of attorney and wills can be challenged by family members who disagree with the couples' relationship. Gay partners cannot make medical decisions for their partner like a married person can make a decision for their spouse. Hospitals pass up gay partners to call family members who are often estranged and hostile toward their gay relative and will ignore their wishes for treatment. If arrested, a gay person's partner will be compelled to testify against him in court when married couples to not have to do this.

Many states are asking the voters to decide whether or not to amend their state constitutions to ban same-sex marriage or to redefine marriage as between a man and a woman. When you strip away the religious beliefs and prejudices against same-sex marriage, you get down to the law. Separating church and state is what protects our religious freedom. We live in a country where people are free to choose their religion and to choose their partner. The people that argue against same-sex marriage based on their religious beliefs might not even get to practice that religion if they lived somewhere else and that's really the point. If the majority can practice their religion and marry who they want to, then all people in this country should have that right.