Marriage has always been a hot topic from interracial marriage to the current day controversy of homosexual marriage. Marriage has traditionally been defined as a union between a man and woman, but today this is not true. In recent weeks, homosexual marriage has been a contentious topic, with a Supreme Court case and many Americans rallying around this cause.
Conservatives believe that homosexual marriage should be banned but currently nine states have legalized homosexual marriage. The conformist revolution is gaining momentum with protests and as mentioned prior, a Supreme Court case.Legalizing gay marriage will cause social, economic and psychological benefits to unfold on a state and national level. To begin, the social benefits of homosexual marriage are irrefutable. Most importantly, many more children will be adopted.
In America alone, there are over 100,000 children awaiting adoption, not to mention children in under privileged countries from where many American couples currently adopt children. Because of obvious biological reasons, gay couples cannot have children, thus forcing the couple to adopt a child if they wish to have children.This makes gay couples the primary people who adopt children in America, right behind Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 120,000 children are adopted each year, but there are many more children waiting for adoption.
Some people say that having just a single sex environment is detrimental to the child, because it denies the child of a mother or father role model. Well, if this is the case, then we need to outlaw single parenting immediately.The social benefits to legalizing gay marriage are obviously not to be overlooked, but better yet, for all who are fiscally minded, are the economic benefits. In addition, the economic benefits to legalizing gay marriage are titanic. A marriage license itself costs money, and with more people eligible for marriage, the state will bring in more revenue. Another economic benefit to gay marriage is that if a person is married, that person has a higher income tax then one not married.
This is called the marriage penalty.For example, two people- one married one not, who both make $75,000 a year would have to pay different amounts of money to the state based on their marriage status. The single person would pay 25% of their income, but the married person would pay 28% of their income. This means more revenue for the state and more funds available to be put towards schools and the elderly. There is also the marriage industry to take into account.
For a single wedding alone, one needs a cake, dresses, suits, a venue, catering, photography, honeymoon, and more.More people eligible for marriage means more weddings. More weddings create economic opportunity for businesses involved with the wedding industry. The Comptroller for New York City found that legalizing gay marriage would bring $142 million to the city’s economy and an additional $184 million to the state’s economy.
A concern that those with opposition to gay marriage have raised is that their tax money will be going towards something that they do not support.However, many people do not support Medicare or other government-funded programs, and still have to pay taxes, and do not complain. As it is, all citizens of America will gain more out of certain government programs, and should not dismiss them because they do not help themselves. As is obvious, legalizing gay marriage will result in huge economic gains to the state, but unknown to many are the psychological and physical benefits legalizing gay marriage will bring to gay couples.
To add on, there are also psychological and physical benefits to marriage.For example, getting married allows people access to marriage benefits, which include tax, estate planning, government, employment, medical, death, family, housing, consumer, and other legal benefits and protections, which currently gay couples are denied. "Allowing same-sex couples to marry would give them access to the social support that already facilitates and strengthens heterosexual marriages, with all of the psychological and physical health benefits associated with that support,” a brief created by the American Psychiatric Association in 2007 states.Not allowing same sex couples to marry creates frustration in a relationship, as the TV show Modern Family demonstrates in one of the episodes- Best Men.
In this episode Cam and Mitch, a gay couple who have an adopted daughter, are asked to be the best men for their old friend. As wedding preparation commences, Cam and Mitch become resentful of their own inability to marry, and almost ruin their friend’s wedding. Their relationship becomes strained, and they act differently around everyone else as well.This is a perfect example of how legalizing gay marriage could have avoided a tense relationship between two soul mates, and some awkward situations as well. To conclude, legalizing gay marriage can only be beneficial to many people, those who are gay and those who are not.
The social benefits to legalizing gay marriage are undeniable, and the economic revenue legalizing gay marriage will bring in is significant. The psychological and physical benefits to gay couples and their acquaintances are also undeniable.
