The arguments for gay marriage:

The arguments for gay marriage: Related Information:

The topic of many a heated debate, gay marriage has been spawning controversy for years, and there are as many arguments for gay marriage as there are against it. The people on both sides of the gay marriage fence have fiercely opposing views, and some of the arguments put forward for gay marriage include:

Prevention of gay marriage is a denial of civil rights is an argument put forward by some gay marriage supporters. This is often compared to the denial of interracial marriages in some states in the 1960s, and these supporters stress that, in the same way that opposition to interracial marriage was broken down, the opposition to gay marriage must also be eliminated.

Homosexuality is not a choice is another argument put forward by gay marriage supporters, who claim that evidence suggests that homosexuality is genetically predetermined and therefore it is unfair for gays to be denied the right to get married when their sexual orientation is not a choice but something they are born with.

Denial of gay marriage is discrimination say some people that support gay marriages, and claim that this denial is akin to treating gay people as second-class citizens.

Many of the argument for gay marriage are in response to the arguments against this sort of union. For example, some anti-gay marriage supporters have stated that marriage is a pre-requisite for producing kids, which gay people cannot do. In response to this, gay marriage supporters have stated that this must means that sterile or impotent people should not be allowed to marry.

Although there are many opposed to gay marriage in the United States – including many that are otherwise in favour of gay rights – there are also those that are strongly pro-gay marriage, including a number of celebrities and well known individuals. This is what some of them have had to say about gay marriage in the past:

Patti Davis (daughter of Ronald Reagan): "In the early 1970s, I was living with my boyfriend and our out-of wedlock arrangement was regarded as rather scandalous by both of our families. When I went to a wedding ceremony of a lesbian friend of mine, I was struck by the obvious irony. Here were two women who could not be legally wed, but who were happily celebrating their commitment to each other. They seemed to have a better understanding of the importance of ceremony, ritual, public declaration than people like me who tossed off the institution of marriage as unnecessary.”

Teresa Heinz Kerry (wife of John Kerry): “I think culturally we’re going through a huge change. I look at it in a human context because I have friends in those situations, and it’s terrible. All we owe people is dignity, respect and civil rights. I think the country will evolve.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Governor and actor): “I believe strongly in the law that we have right now in California, which respects domestic partnerships rights and I think that’s a very good law. I believe in equal rights absolutely and in protecting that.”

Republican Dennis Kucinich spoke out against the democratic presidential candidate last year for not supporting same sex marriage. Kucinich stated that gay marriage was a "fundamental civil rights issue ... that shouldn't even be a close question.''