“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” A simple quote from Dr. Suess directed to anyone who reads it. Everyone is born an individual. Throughout your life you are told to “be yourself” yet often in our society when a gay tries to “be themselves” they are denied rights, including marriage. They are denied for often time religious reasons as well as ethical reasons. But is our government really aloud to interfere with religion, go against the 1st amendment and deny true love? Gay couples should have equal rights to everything that the traditional couple has.

One of the main reasons government denies gay marriage is because most religions see same sex marriage as a sin, however the government isn’t supposed to interfere with religion. The 1st amendment, religious freedom, is supposed to let people practice whatever religion they choose. The first amendment is supposed to let churches interpret the bible or other holy books as they see it. So if a church is willing to marry a same sex couple, the government shouldn’t be able to tell them they can’t. That kind of defeats the purpose of religious freedom.

In our country majority rules but minorities are still supposed to be protected. Does the statement “All men are created equal” not apply to gay, lesbian, and transgender couples? No matter the race or orientation of a person, we are all created equal and suppose to have equal rights. Not giving gay couples the right of marriage is telling them that their not equal. Not allowing gays to marry is also form of discrimination, much like if black and white person couples tried to get married and were turned away for skin color.

The definition of “love” is: a strong positive emotion of regard and affection. Nowhere in the definition does it say that it is strictly between a man and women. It is simply an emotion that is felt differently by everyone. When it comes to marriage shouldn’t you be able to spend the rest of your life with the person that you truly love with all of your heart? Shouldn’t you be able to live happily ever after without the government telling you that you can’t? Denying a gay couple to be married is denying the power of love. Forcing someone to love a gender that they don’t is taking away both ones character and rights. It’s wrong to tear two lovers apart.


Some opposing arguments say that gay marriage will increase divorce rate as well as do damage to the children of gay or lesbian couples. When it comes to the divorce rate of homosexual couples, statistics show that only about 31% of gay couples end in divorce. So if people are really worried about the divorce rate increasing, it really wouldn’t boost the rate too much. It is also argued that children who grow up with homosexual parents are off for the worse. However a study published by American Academy of Pediatrics shows that there was no difference in children in any psychological, social and sexual development aspects who grow up with homosexual parents versus heterosexual parents.

In our day and age, two people who aren’t traditionally supposed to love each other that are in love are often times singled out, verbally or physically assaulted, and sometimes even killed. If we learned to accept gay people for who they are, and grant them there rights this wouldn’t happen as much. In conclusion everyone should be accepted for the person they are. Gay, lesbian, bi, or transgender, they are all people with feelings, desires, and souls. Marriage should not be defined by gender, but by true love. Shakespeare once said, “Love looks not with eyes, but with the mind.” Let’s give gays the rights they deserve.