(no subject)
Marriage is a personal choice that we all have the right to make and no government has the authority to restrict that. The union created between married couples is a support system that ensures economic and social stability. Marriage also gives over one thousand federal legal benefits and responsibilities to the couple. Marriage is not only about procreation; however, it is a basic civil right.
Marriage has numerous personal benefits. To be married is to publicly announce and decorate love and support as well as privately celebrate commitment to the ones we love. Marriage gives significance and recognition to a couple’s lifelong relationship and ensures an intimate support system through good and bad times. Marriage protects children as well. Children who grow up knowing their parents love and care about each other have incredible security. Judgment of parents is made on parenting skills, not age, race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. Marriage is one of the best predictors of good health and longevity. Married couples overall have higher incomes, make less risky choices, eat better and have less psychological problems than single people have.
Marriage is practical. With so many federal, state and local benefits that come with marriage, it only makes sense for committed couples to wed. In case of hospitalization, a spouse has visitation rights as well as the ability to make important medical decisions for the ailing spouse. Employers also give sick leave, bereavement, insurance and pension benefits to spouses. In the unfortunate case of death, spouses can have IRA’s and retirement benefits rolled over to their own accounts. The government gives automatic rights to the spouse even without a will. Elderly married couples are rarely split up unless medical conditions require separation. Marriage provides stability and continuity to families and society with legal, social and economic protection. Married people can file joint taxes as well as apply for joint health, home and car insurance policies.
Marriage has always been an exclusive gift to those in power. All over the world, marriage laws strip women of their rights. They are treated as property not as people. In roman times, only the upper class could marry and in pre-Civil War America, slaves did not have the right to marry. Asians and Native Americans were long denied the right to get married as well. As late as 1967, some states did not give interracial couples the right to wed. Using marriage rights to discriminate based on gender, race, disability and sexual orientation is a way to establish social controls on those who are not in power. Anti-marriage laws do not protect the sanctity of marriage, but hurt families, children and divide communities as well as create a “legal stranger” policy.
Imagine going to a party with your lover of 20 years and only being recognized as “friends”. Imagine being split by an ocean from your partner because of citizenship laws. Imagine losing the children you have raised because tragedy strikes. Imagine losing everything you have worked your entire life for because of the death of a loved one. Would you really wish this on anyone else, even if you do not agree with his or her sexual orientation?
Marriage has numerous personal benefits. To be married is to publicly announce and decorate love and support as well as privately celebrate commitment to the ones we love. Marriage gives significance and recognition to a couple’s lifelong relationship and ensures an intimate support system through good and bad times. Marriage protects children as well. Children who grow up knowing their parents love and care about each other have incredible security. Judgment of parents is made on parenting skills, not age, race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. Marriage is one of the best predictors of good health and longevity. Married couples overall have higher incomes, make less risky choices, eat better and have less psychological problems than single people have.
Marriage is practical. With so many federal, state and local benefits that come with marriage, it only makes sense for committed couples to wed. In case of hospitalization, a spouse has visitation rights as well as the ability to make important medical decisions for the ailing spouse. Employers also give sick leave, bereavement, insurance and pension benefits to spouses. In the unfortunate case of death, spouses can have IRA’s and retirement benefits rolled over to their own accounts. The government gives automatic rights to the spouse even without a will. Elderly married couples are rarely split up unless medical conditions require separation. Marriage provides stability and continuity to families and society with legal, social and economic protection. Married people can file joint taxes as well as apply for joint health, home and car insurance policies.
Marriage has always been an exclusive gift to those in power. All over the world, marriage laws strip women of their rights. They are treated as property not as people. In roman times, only the upper class could marry and in pre-Civil War America, slaves did not have the right to marry. Asians and Native Americans were long denied the right to get married as well. As late as 1967, some states did not give interracial couples the right to wed. Using marriage rights to discriminate based on gender, race, disability and sexual orientation is a way to establish social controls on those who are not in power. Anti-marriage laws do not protect the sanctity of marriage, but hurt families, children and divide communities as well as create a “legal stranger” policy.
Imagine going to a party with your lover of 20 years and only being recognized as “friends”. Imagine being split by an ocean from your partner because of citizenship laws. Imagine losing the children you have raised because tragedy strikes. Imagine losing everything you have worked your entire life for because of the death of a loved one. Would you really wish this on anyone else, even if you do not agree with his or her sexual orientation?