Modern studies assignment
justification 2- legal benefits to marriage
the legal benefits to marriage are very important, source 10 says there are "1,138 legal benefits to marriage" this put simply means gay couples living together as if they were married aren't granted the same rights as straight couples who are married. If a gay couple can't get married then it's a possibility that they'll be treated like strangers under the law, basically meaning that their partner of potentially over 20 years would not count as their next of kin, this means that if a gay person is on life support the decision to pull the plug could go to their parents who haven't even talked to them for years rather than their long term partner, and that's just one example of a situation where not being allowed to marry disadvantages gay couples. This shows that homosexual couples don't the same rights as heterosexual couples, to conclude you can't say that you have an egalitarian society with equal opportunities for all if you deny certain groups of people certain rights, and equality itself in is reason to legalise gay marriage.
Implication 2
the only reason the government has for allowing heterosexuals to get married legally is so they procreate and raise offspring together, as it can be harmful to the child to be raised by a single parent, as seen in source 1 which states children raised by single parents are "almost five times" more likely to have emotional problems, so allowing heterosexual couples ensures that the next generation will be raised well. The government shouldn't have any interest in giving legal recognition to same sex couples as they are unable to reproduce, and children should be raised by a man and a woman as they have for centuries.
option and decisions
there are two main options in this report, option 1 to legalize same sex marriage, or option 2 to not allow them that right. there is a third option which i will mention briefly and that is to put it to a vote. i have chosen to support option 1, throughout the report i will provide evidence as to why I have made this decision.
justification 3- it doesn't hurt anyone
Allowing same sex marriage wouldn't hurt anyone, take a moment to think about it, how will allowing same sex couples equal recognition under the law as heterosexual couples have any negative effects on anyone? It wouldn't. It would however mean the world to the gay couples who have been campaigning on the matter for decades, what reason is there to object to granting homosexuals the same legal rights as heterosexuals other than homophobia. Gay marriage has been legalized in 27 countries and it hasn't had any measurable impacts on anyone other than gay people exercising their right to get married. The mental health benefits of marriage generally are well-documented. In 2009, the American Medical Association officially recognised that excluding sexual minorities from marriage was significantly contributing to the overall poor health among same-sex households compared to heterosexual households. This means that although giving Homosexuals the right to marry doesn't hurt anyone, withholding the right does hurt people, specifically those who are unable to married.
introduction:
As someone who advocates for LGBT rights I have been asked to prepare a report on whether or not the northern Irish assembly should allow same sex couples the right to marriage. Currently Northern Ireland is one of the few countries considered a western nation that does not permit same sex marriage as of now. Gay marriage is a very complex issue with there being very strong views on both sides of this topic I will try and represent both sides of the argument in my report whilst coming to a recommendation.
counter
As source 12 also shows us the bible also condones slavery, "slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ" but since it was written we've come to the societal consensus that slavery is wrong, point being that there are a lot of things in the bible which are no longer culturally appropriate which we don't allow under the heading of freedom of religion. freedom of religion has its limits that's why religious people can no longer put gay people to death despite as source 12 shows us the same quote referenced in this argument permitting it. To say that homosexual people don't have the legal right to marry is imposing Christianity on other people. As for the idea that Christian bakers are going to be fined for not catering to gay weddings, this is one isolated incident in 27 countries that have legalized same sex marriage so far, meaning that it is doubtful that things like this will be common, let alone condoned. The government does not have the power to force people to go to gay weddings, the idea that they do have the power or will get the power to do anything like that from something as harmless as legalizing gay marriage is just a slippery slope fallacy.
implication 1
As source 12 shows us the bible says homosexuality is a sin "if a man lies with a male as with a woman; both of them have committed an abomination", making priests who follow the bible marry two men or two women is encroaching on their religious freedom, being religious is a characteristic protected by law, specifically the equality act, furthermore it sets a dangerous president: if the government can make religious people go against their beliefs to make them marry two men, how long until they're forcing Christian bakers to bake cakes for gay weddings, as source 3 shows us Christian bakers were fined over $100,000 for not catering to a lesbian couple, this means that their religious freedom is under attacl, how long will it be before the government can make people go to gay weddings as there could be a fine for not doing so?
Counter
If the government should only have an interest in heterosexuals getting married because they are able to raise the next generation, then they should definitely condone gay marriage as not only would they be a great resource to help with the currently more than 3,000 children in need of a family in the UK according to source 2, the rate of heterosexuals adopting children is gradually decreasing, whereas with same sex couples it is increasing; this means that gay couples are becoming more likely to adopt, which is a good thing for the children in our country with no family and nowhere to call home. And actually as source 2 shows us same sex couples are just as capable as raising children as opposite sex couples, the American pediatric association have been doing research into this subject for 30 years and they haven't found that children raised by same sex parents are at any sort of disadvantage, they actually have found added some benefits to same sex parenting such as: females being raised by 2 women tend to have higher self-esteem, this supports the argument that same sex couples should be given the right to marriage as they are able to raise children just as well as heterosexual couples.
Evaluation of sources
Source 4 The guardian is a left-wing publication, so it is possible that some of their articles are based on their own opinions rather than on the facts, however I was just using their publication for the statistics, which are un-adapted from a reliable source: the office for national statistics, therefor there wouldn't be any of their bias influencing it. Source 6 is a poll done by Ipsos MORI which is the second largest market research organization in the united-kingdom, they work extensively with the government to look at public attitudes, they work poll a variety of people from different ethnicities, she they don't have a political bias and are a trust worthy source of polling information.
third option
a third option would be to hold a referendum and give the vote for weather or not gay marriage, despite already having one in 2015 feelings and attitudes towards same sex marriage are changing very fast within Northern Ireland as seen in source 6 which states that the polling data we have to go on is that 68% of Northern Ireland adults
justification 1- Normalization of the LGBT community.
allowing same sex marriage normalizes LGBT people, as source 4 shows us 1.5 percent of people are gay or bisexual in the UK, this means that gay, lesbian and bisexuals are a very small minority which could make them feel alone and isolated from the majority of the population who are heterosexual, it is for this reason that marriage equality should be a reality, as it will give LGB people more visibility and make LGB youth feel less isolated and alone with who they are. As source 5 shows us: LGB youth are almost 5 times as likely attempt suicide than their heterosexual counterparts, there could be multiple reasons for LGB attempted suicide rate being high but being a small minority and not feeling normal is one of the main reasons. Furthermore there are many areas in which LGBT people are discriminated against, for example stonewall research indicates that one in five people are LGBT have experienced a hate crime because of sexual orientation or gender identity in the last 12 months, it is possible that legalizing gay marriage could potentially bring this number down. To conclude legalizing same sex marriage makes a statement that homosexual and bisexual people are equal citizens and deserve to be treated as such with all of the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts.
background info
currently in the Northern Ireland same sex couples are not allowed to get married. the topic has reached the Nothern Irish assembly level 5 times but has not yet been legalized. The official amount of people who identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual in the UK is 1 in 50 making them 2% of the population, however the number for 16 to 24 is 4.1% this probably shows that younger people are more likely to be open about their sexuality making it very probable that a lot of homosexual or bisexual people from older generations don't want to disclose their true sexual orientation. The legal definition of marriage in Northern Ireland is defined as "between a man and a woman". Recent polls suggest that support for same sex marriage within Northern Ireland is on the rise, the figure is around 82% in favor among 16 to 34-year-olds and 75% support among 35 to 54-year-olds.
Conclusion
it is therefore obvious that we should allow same sex couples the right to get married within Northern Ireland, as it is both a moral and civil rights issue. Not only does it not harm anyone but it is very positive for LGBT people. Same sex couples should be afforded the legal benefits of marriage in the same way as any other couple. Same sex marriage While there are still hurdles that the LGBT community need to overcome, making marriage equality a reality is definitely a step in the right direction.
