Ethical Arguments for Legalizing Gay Marriage

Introduction
Gay marriage has been debated heavily in recent years. In this ethical dilemma, there are two sides: people are either in favor of gay marriage or they are opposed. Those against gay marriage generally use a deontological argument or slippery slope arguments. Those in favor of gay marriage tend to use arguments for human needs, civil rights, and justice. The most ethical view is to allow gay marriage.

Methodology
Using arguments for human needs, civil rights, and justice, I will prove that allowing gay marriage is ethical. I will also refute the deontological argument and slippery slope arguments for banning gay marriage.

History of Gay Marriage
The issue of whether it is legal for same-sex couples to marry has been addressed in court cases since 1971. The first case in 1971 was Baker v. Nelson in the state of Minnesota. The Court determined that homosexuals did not have the right to marry because marriage was defined as being between a man and a woman. Therefore, same-sex couples could not marry legally. In five other cases during the 1970’s and 80’s, the court came to the same decision based on the historical definition of marriage. The results of these decisions were consistent with the thinking patterns of the majority of the population during these decades (Cantor). 

In 1993, with the case of Baehr v. Anderson, the state of Hawaii became the first to recognize the constitutional right of same-sex marriage. As a result of the Baehr v. Anderson case, the United States Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996. The DOMA bill defines marriage as being between a man and a woman for purpose of federal statutes and it provides that individual states are not required to honor same-sex marriages from other states under the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause (Cantor).