This story was originally published in the GenZeal feature of LNP on Sunday, December 17, 2023.
By Anelis Torres-Alfinez ’24
Even today, same-sex couples face more challenges than heterosexual couples when expressing their love for each other.
Even if their families accept a same-sex couple (which often is still not the case), large parts of society still look down on those who do not fit into the so-called heteronormative mainstream.
It has been a long fight to have same-sex marriage be recognized and accepted. The article “Journey to Marriage Equality in the United States” on the website of the Human Rights Campaign describes how the LGBTQ+ community started the fight to have same-sex marriage legalized in the 1990s.
To oppose those efforts, the Defense of Marriage Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. The law banned the federal recognition of same-sex marriage and allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted by other states.
This law was wrong. If two people genuinely love each other and want to be together in a marriage, they have the right to do so.
The U.S. Supreme Court declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in a 2013 ruling, a decision that many, including then-President Barack Obama, applauded. This eventually paved the way for full equality of marriage for the LGBTQ+ community at the federal level.
If the federal government can respect the LGBTQ+ community’s rights, we should be able to respect them, too.
Part of being in a democracy means that everyone is entitled to the freedom to express who they really are, as long as they are not harming someone else.
John Corvino, author of the essay “Same-Sex Marriage Furthers the American Values of Freedom and Equality,” makes the point that legalizing same-sex marriage does not diminish the opportunity for heterosexual couples to marry, because marriage licenses are not limited, and any couple can get married.
Along with that, Corvino discusses religion. The Bible strongly opposes divorce. “Yet there is no significant movement, religious or otherwise, for banning divorce,” writes Corvino. He raises the point that although divorce is criticized in the Bible, those who get divorced are not usually shamed in our society. Yet plenty of people argue that same-sex relationships are unacceptable because the Bible denounces them.
Religious beliefs are often cited by those who oppose same-sex marriage. Thomas J. Paprocki, author of the essay “The Catholic Church Should Never Recognize Same-Sex Marriages,” writes about the nature of marriage: “Marriage grows out of a natural affinity and complementarity of male and female — in other words, the ways in which one gender completes the other emotionally, spiritually and physically.” Paprocki believes that marriage is meant only to join a man and a woman, and that it doesn’t work with two people of the same gender.
I believe, however, that people in same-sex marriages can enjoy the same emotional benefits as heterosexual couples. And same-sex couples have many avenues to have and raise children.
Everyone has a right to their beliefs, but we don’t have the right to impose them on others. It’s time that we start respecting the right of people to choose whom they want to love.
It’s Wrong that LGBTQ+ Couples are Still Made to Feel like Outsiders
This story was originally published in the GenZeal feature of LNP on Sunday, December 17, 2023.
By Anelis Torres-Alfinez ’24
Even today, same-sex couples face more challenges than heterosexual couples when expressing their love for each other.
Even if their families accept a same-sex couple (which often is still not the case), large parts of society still look down on those who do not fit into the so-called heteronormative mainstream.
It has been a long fight to have same-sex marriage be recognized and accepted. The article “Journey to Marriage Equality in the United States” on the website of the Human Rights Campaign describes how the LGBTQ+ community started the fight to have same-sex marriage legalized in the 1990s.
To oppose those efforts, the Defense of Marriage Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. The law banned the federal recognition of same-sex marriage and allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted by other states.
This law was wrong. If two people genuinely love each other and want to be together in a marriage, they have the right to do so.
The U.S. Supreme Court declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in a 2013 ruling, a decision that many, including then-President Barack Obama, applauded. This eventually paved the way for full equality of marriage for the LGBTQ+ community at the federal level.
If the federal government can respect the LGBTQ+ community’s rights, we should be able to respect them, too.
Part of being in a democracy means that everyone is entitled to the freedom to express who they really are, as long as they are not harming someone else.
John Corvino, author of the essay “Same-Sex Marriage Furthers the American Values of Freedom and Equality,” makes the point that legalizing same-sex marriage does not diminish the opportunity for heterosexual couples to marry, because marriage licenses are not limited, and any couple can get married.
Along with that, Corvino discusses religion. The Bible strongly opposes divorce. “Yet there is no significant movement, religious or otherwise, for banning divorce,” writes Corvino. He raises the point that although divorce is criticized in the Bible, those who get divorced are not usually shamed in our society. Yet plenty of people argue that same-sex relationships are unacceptable because the Bible denounces them.
Religious beliefs are often cited by those who oppose same-sex marriage. Thomas J. Paprocki, author of the essay “The Catholic Church Should Never Recognize Same-Sex Marriages,” writes about the nature of marriage: “Marriage grows out of a natural affinity and complementarity of male and female — in other words, the ways in which one gender completes the other emotionally, spiritually and physically.” Paprocki believes that marriage is meant only to join a man and a woman, and that it doesn’t work with two people of the same gender.
I believe, however, that people in same-sex marriages can enjoy the same emotional benefits as heterosexual couples. And same-sex couples have many avenues to have and raise children.
Everyone has a right to their beliefs, but we don’t have the right to impose them on others. It’s time that we start respecting the right of people to choose whom they want to love.
Sources:
https://www.hrc.org/our-work/stories/the-journey-to-marriage-equality-in-the-united-states
https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T001&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&retrievalId=b5707c15-1f0f-413f-ba4c-00f14660b25b&hitCount=1&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CEJ3010945214&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-MOD1&prodId=GPS&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CEJ3010945214&searchId=R2&userGroupName=lanc78965&inPS=true
https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T001&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&retrievalId=04c809a7-40a3-4413-822c-c07bbfa9906f&hitCount=1&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CEJ3010384269&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-MOD1&prodId=GPS&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CEJ3010384269&searchId=R1&userGroupName=lanc78965&inPS=true