Should gay marriage be legal?
Micro Site
As of July 20, 2011, gay marriage is allowed in six US states (MA, CT, Did You Know?
IA, VT, NH, and NY) and the District of Columbia. 30 states have
constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Pro & Con Arguments
Top Pro & Con Quotes
Proponents argue that same-sex couples should have access to the
same marriage benefits and public acknowledgment enjoyed by Background
heterosexual couples and that prohibiting gay marriage is Video Gallery
unconstitutional discrimination.
Comments
Opponents argue that altering the traditional definition of marriage as
between a man and a woman will further weaken a threatened institution
and that legalizing gay marriage is a slippery slope that may lead to
polygamous and interspecies marriages. Read more...
Gay Marriage ProCon.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit website that presents facts, studies, and pro and con statements on questions related to whether or not
same sex marriage should be legalized.
Did You Know?
1. As of July 20, 2011, gay marriage remains legal in the following
states: Massachusetts (May 17, 2004), Connecticut (Nov. 12,
2008), Iowa (Apr. 24. 2009), Vermont (Sep. 1, 2009), New
Hampshire (Jan. 1, 2010), New York (June 24, 2011) and the
District of Columbia (Mar. 3, 2010). [1] 30 states have constitutional
amendments banning gay marriage. [25]
2. Massachusetts, which became the first state to legalize gay
marriage on May 17, 2004, had the lowest divorce rate in the
country in 2008. Its divorce rate declined 21% between 2003 and
2008. [2]
3. The Congressional Budget Office estimated on Dec. 17, 2009 that
extending employment benefits to same-sex domestic partners
of federal employees would cost the federal government $596
million (29 KB) in mandatory spending and $302 million in
discretionary spending between 2010 and 2019. [37]
4. The Williams Institute at UCLA Law School estimated the positive
economic impact of legalizing gay marriage in New Jersey to be
$248 million over three years, creating 800 new jobs (414 KB)
and bringing in an additional $19 million in government revenues.
[38]
5. As of Sep. 15, 2010, 10 out of 194 countries allow same-sex
couples to marry (21 KB) : the Netherlands (2000), Belgium
(2003), Canada (2005), Spain (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway
(2009), Sweden (2009), Argentina (2010), Iceland (2010), and
Portugal (2010). Gay couples are allowed to wed in parts of
Australia and Mexico. [39]
Pro & Con Arguments: "Should gay marriage be legal?"
PRO Gay Marriage CON Gay Marriage
1. It is no one else's business if two men or two women 1. The institution of marriage has traditionally been
want to get married. Two people of the same sex who defined as between a man and a woman. In the Oct.
love each other should be allowed to publicly celebrate 15, 1971 decision Baker v. Nelson (186 KB) , the
their commitment (357 KB) and receive the same Supreme Court of Minnesota found that "The
benefits of marriage as opposite sex couples. [40] institution of marriage as a union of man and woman,
uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of
2. There is no such thing as traditional marriage. Given children within a family, is as old as the book of
the prevalence of modern and ancient examples of Genesis.” [49]
family arrangements based on polygamy, communal
child-rearing, the use of concubines and mistresses 2. Marriage is already threatened with high divorce rates
and the commonality of prostitution, heterosexual (between 40% and 50%) (851 KB) and with 40.6% of
monogamy can be considered "unnatural” in babies being born to unmarried mothers (312 KB) in
evolutionary terms. [3] 2008. Allowing same-sex couples to marry would
further weaken the institution. [50] [51]
3. Gay marriage is protected by the Constitution's
commitments to liberty and equality. The US Supreme 3. Gay marriage could potentially lead down a "slippery
Court declared in 1974’s Cleveland Board of slope” ending with giving people in polygamous,
Education v. LaFleur that the "freedom of personal incestuous, bestial, and other nontraditional
choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of relationships the right to marry. [10] Glen Lavy, JD,
the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause.” US senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, argued
District Judge Vaughn Walker wrote on Aug. 4, 2010 in a May 21, 2008 Los Angeles Times Op-Ed, "The
that Prop. 8 in California banning gay marriage was movement for polygamy and polyamory is poised to
"unconstitutional under both the Due Process and use the successes of same-sex couples as a
Equal Protection Clauses (343 KB) .” [41] springboard for further de-institutionalizing marriage."
[11]
4. Denying same-sex couples the right to marry
stigmatizes gay and lesbian families (117 KB) as 4. Gay marriage is incompatible with the beliefs, sacred
inferior and sends the message that it is acceptable to texts, and traditions of many religious groups. The
discriminate against them. The Massachusetts Catholic Church, Presbyterian Church, Islam, United
Supreme Court wrote in an opinion to the state Senate Methodist Church, Southern Baptist Convention,
on Feb. 3, 2004 that offering civil unions was not an Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, National
acceptable alternative to gay marriage because "...it is Association of Evangelicals, and American Baptist
a considered choice of language that reflects a Churches USA all oppose same-sex marriage.
demonstrable assigning of same-sex, largely Expanding marriage to include same-sex couples may
homosexual, couples to second-class status." [42] lead to churches being forced to marry couples and
children being taught in school that same-sex marriage
5. Gay marriages can bring financial gain to state and is the same as opposite-sex marriage. [12]
local governments. Revenue from gay marriage comes
from marriage licenses, higher income taxes (the so- 5. People should not have their tax dollars used to
called "marriage penalty"), and decreases in costs for support something they find wrong. Gay marriage
state benefit programs. [4] The Comptroller for New would entitle gay couples to typical marriage benefits
York City found that legalizing gay marriage would including claiming a tax exemption for a spouse,
bring $142 million to the City’s economy and $184 receiving social security payments from a deceased
million to the State’s economy (127 KB) over three spouse, and coverage by a spouse’s health insurance
years. [43] policy. On Dec. 17, 2009, the Congressional Budget
Office estimated that the cost to the federal
6. Gay marriage will make it easier for same-sex couples government of extending employment benefits to
to adopt children. In the US, 100,000 children are same-sex domestic partners of certain federal
employees (making no mention of additional costs
waiting to be adopted (319 KB) . A longitudinal study
published in Pediatrics on June 7, 2010 found that such as Social Security and inheritance taxes) would
children of lesbian mothers were rated higher than be $596 million in mandatory spending and $302
children of heterosexual parents in social and million in discretionary spending (28 KB) between
academic competence and had fewer social problems 2010 and 2019. [37]
(293 KB) . A July 2010 study found that children of
gay fathers were "as well-adjusted as those adopted 6. Gay marriage will lead to more children being raised in
by heterosexual parents (144 KB) .” [44] [45] [46] same-sex households which are not an optimum
environment for raising children because children need
7. Marriage provides both physical and psychological both a mother and father. Girls who are raised apart
health benefits and recent research suggests that from their fathers are reportedly at higher risk for early
refusing to allow same-sex couples to marry has sexual activity (827 KB) and teenage pregnancy.
resulted in harmful psychological effects. [5] The Children without a mother are deprived of the
American Psychological Association, American emotional security and unique advice that mothers
Psychiatric Association, and others wrote in a Sep. provide. An Apr. 2001 study published in American
2007 amicus brief, "...allowing same-sex couples to Sociological Review suggesed that children with
marry would give them access to the social support lesbian or gay parents are more likely to engage in
(277 KB) that already facilitates and strengthens homosexual behavior (3.9 MB) . In the 1997 book
heterosexual marriages, with all of the psychological Growing up in a Lesbian Family: Effects on Child
and physical health benefits associated with that Development, Fiona Tasker, PhD, and Susan
support.” [47] Golombok, PhD, observed that 25% of sampled young
adults raised by lesbian mothers had engaged in a
8. Allowing same-sex couples to marry will give them homoerotic relationship, compared to 0% of sampled
access to basic rights such as hospital visitation during young adults raised by heterosexual mothers. [13] [52]
an illness, taxation and inheritance rights, access to [53]
family health coverage, and protection in the event of
the relationship ending. [6] An Oct. 2, 2009 analysis by 7. Gay marriage will accelerate the "assimilation” of gays
the New York Times estimates that a same-sex couple into mainstream heterosexual culture. The gay
denied marriage benefits will incur an additional community has created its own vibrant culture. By
$41,196 to $467,562 in expenses over their lifetime reducing the gap of opportunities and experiences
compared to a married heterosexual couple. [7] between gay and heterosexual people, this unique
culture may cease to exist. As M.V. Lee Badgett
9. The Executive Board of the American Anthropological summarizes, "marriage means adopting heterosexual
Association found that more than a century of research forms of family and giving up distinctively gay family
has shown "no support whatsoever for the view that forms and perhaps even gay and lesbian culture." [14]
either civilization or viable social orders depend upon
marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. 8. The institution of marriage is sexist and oppressive; it
Rather, anthropological research supports the should not be expanded but weakened. Paula
conclusion that a vast array of family types, including Ettelbrick, JD, Professor of Law and Women's Studies,
families built upon same-sex partnerships, can wrote in 1989, "Marriage runs contrary to two of the
contribute to stable and humane societies." [8] primary goals of the lesbian and gay movement: the
affirmation of gay identity and culture and the
10. Marriage in the US is a secular and dynamic institution validation of many forms of relationships." [15] The
that has gone under several major transformations. leaders of the Gay Liberation Front in New York said in
Interracial marriage was illegal in many US states until July 1969, "We expose the institution of marriage as
a 1967 Supreme Court decision. Coverture, where a one of the most insidious and basic sustainers of the
woman's legal rights and economic identity were system. The family is the microcosm of oppression.”
[16]
subsumed by her husband upon marriage, was
commonplace in 19th century America. No-fault
divorce has changed the institution of marriage since 9. Same-sex marriage has lead to increased acceptance
its introduction in California on Jan. 1, 1970. Nancy of single parenthood and has undermined the
Cott, PhD, testified in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that institution of marriage in Scandinavia. Sweden began
"[c]ivil law has always been supreme in defining and offering same-sex couples benefits in 1987, followed
by Denmark in 1989 and Norway in 1993. According to
regulating marriage” (343 KB) and that religious
a Feb. 29, 2004 report by Stanley Kurtz, PhD, 60% of
leaders are accustomed to performing marriages only firstborn children in Denmark and a majority of children
because the state has given them that authority. [41] in Sweden and Norway are born out of wedlock. [17]
11. Legalizing gay marriage will not harm heterosexual 10. Marriage is not a right. Society can choose to endorse
marriages or "family values.” A study published on certain types of sexual arrangements and give support
Apr. 13, 2009 in Social Science Quarterly found that in the form of benefits to these arrangements.
"[l]aws permitting same-sex marriage or civil unions Marriage was created to allow society to support
have no adverse effect on marriage (109 KB) , heterosexual couples in procreation and society can
divorce, and abortion rates, [or] the percent of children choose not to give the same benefits to same-sex
born out of wedlock..." [48] couples. [18]
12. Massachusetts, which became the first state to 11. Marriage should not be extended to same-sex couples
legalize gay marriage in 2004, had the lowest divorce because homosexual relationships have nothing to do
rate in the country in 2008. Its divorce rate declined with procreation. Allowing gay marriage would only
21% between 2003 and 2008. Alaska, the first state to further shift the purpose of marriage from producing
alter its constitution to prohibit gay marriage in 1998, and raising children to adult gratification. [19]
saw a 17.2% increase in its divorce rate. The seven
states with the highest divorce rates between 2003 12. Marriage is a religious rite. According to a July 31,
and 2008 all had constitutional prohibitions to gay 2003 statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine
marriage. [2] of the Faith and approved by Pope John Paul II,
marriage "was established by the Creator with its own
13. If marriage is about reproduction, then infertile couples nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology
would not be allowed to marry. Ability or desire to can erase from the human spirit the certainty that
create offspring has never been a qualification for marriage exists solely between a man and a woman
marriage. George Washington, often referred to as (67 KB) …” [54]
"the Father of Our Country,” did not have children with
his wife Martha Custis, and neither did four other 13. If a gay man or lesbian woman wants to get married,
married US presidents. [9] all they need to do is choose not to be gay and marry
someone of the opposite sex. During the May 15, 1996
hearings of the House Judiciary Committee on the
Defense of Marriage Act, Representative Bob Inglis
(R-SC) objected to gay rights activists comparing their
fight for marriage equality with the African-American
civil rights movement. He argued, "The fact is, that [it]
is not a choice to be black, but it is a choice - I know
you don't like this, but it is obviously a choice to be
homosexual." [20]
Background: "Should gay marriage be legal?"
(click to enlarge image)
Same-sex marriage supporters protest the passage of
Proposition 8 in front of San Francisco City Hall.
Source: Darryl Bush, www.ap.org, Nov. 15, 2008
As of July 20, 2011, gay marriage is allowed in six US states (MA, CT, IA, VT, NH, and NY) and the District of Columbia. 30
states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.
Proponents argue that same-sex couples should have access to the same marriage benefits and public acknowledgment
enjoyed by heterosexual couples and that prohibiting gay marriage is unconstitutional discrimination.
Opponents argue that altering the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman will further weaken a
threatened institution and that legalizing gay marriage is a slippery slope that may lead to polygamous and interspecies
marriages.
The gay rights movement in the US can be traced back to the Stonewall Riots that occurred following a police raid on the
Stonewall Inn in New York City at 3 a.m. on June 28, 1969. Police raids on gay bars were commonplace, but on this occasion
the gay and lesbian patrons fought back and sparked days of protests. The Stonewall Riots marked the beginning of a political
movement for gay rights during a time when it was illegal to have homosexual sex in all states except for Illinois. [21] Between
1969 and 1974, the number of gay organizations in the country swelled from fewer than 50 to nearly a thousand. [22]
Gay-rights activism in the 1970s focused more on personal liberation and visibility than on gaining access to institutions such
as marriage. While some gay activists sought the right to marry in the early 1970s, others rejected marriage as "heterosexist”
and saw it as an outdated institution. [23] The gay liberation movement achieved a victory in Dec. 1973 when the American
Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder and the American Psychological Association did the
same in 1975. [24]
(Click to enlarge image)
States with constitutional amendments banning gay marriage
Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, "State Policies
on Same-Sex Marriage,” www.pewforum.org, July 8, 2009
The increased visibility of the gay community prompted a well publicized backlash by opponents of gay-rights. One high-
profile opponent of gay rights was singer and former Miss Oklahoma Anita Bryant who founded the group Save Our Children
and campaigned to repeal local ordinances that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. During the 1980s, news
of the AIDS epidemic increased homophobia and discrimination but also encouraged the gay community to further organize.
Following the news that actor Rock Hudson was dying of AIDS, attitudes towards both AIDS and the gay community started to
shift. In 1983, Congressman Gerry Studds (D-MA) became the first openly gay Congressman, followed by Congressman
Barney Frank (D-MA) in 1987. [23]
The current national debate on gay marriage was sparked by the Supreme Court of Hawaii’s 3-1 ruling on May 5, 1993 (152
KB) that the state could not ban same-sex marriages without "a compelling reason” to do so. [55] The case was sent back to
a lower court but voters approved a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage before the courts settled the issue.
Although a gay marriage was never performed in Hawaii, the issue gained national attention and prompted over 40 states
over the next decade to pass Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMAs) that defined marriage as a legal union between one man
and one woman. [25] On Sep. 21, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the federal Defense of Marriage Act into law which
defined marriage at the federal level as between a man and a woman. The federal DOMA statute ensured that no state would
be forced to recognize gay marriages performed in other states and prevented same-sex couples from receiving federal
protections and benefits given to married heterosexual couples.
(Click to enlarge image)
US gay marriage laws, state by state
Source: Freedom to Marry, "States,”
www.freedomtomarry.org, Apr. 16, 2010
On Dec. 20, 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Baker v. Vermont (202 KB) that same-sex couples were
entitled to the same rights, protections, and benefits as heterosexual couples. [56] On July 1, 2000, Vermont became the first
state in the US to institute civil unions, giving same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples without
calling it marriage.
On June 26, 2003, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Lawrence v. Texas that sodomy laws were unconstitutional. In
overruling the court’s June 30, 1986 decision in Bowers v. Hardwick, the court established a right to sexual privacy and
Justice Antonin Scalia predicted in his dissent that the majority decision "leaves on pretty shaky grounds state laws limiting
marriage to opposite-sex couples.”
On Nov. 18, 2003, Massachusetts highest court ruled that the state must allow same-sex couples to marry. Unlike the 1999
Vermont Supreme Court ruling, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court did not provide the legislature the opportunity to
offer an alternative to marriage such as civil unions. On May 17, 2004, the first legal gay marriage in the US was performed in
Cambridge, MA between Tanya McCloskey, a massage therapist, and Marcia Kadishm, an employment manager at an
engineering firm. [26]
Before 2004, four states had banned gay marriages. In 2004, 13 states saw their constitutions amended by referenda to ban
gay marriage. Between 2005 and Sep. 15, 2010, 14 more states followed suit, bringing the total number of states with
constitutional bans on gay marriage to 30. [25]
On July 14, 2004, an effort in the US Senate to pass a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriagereceived only 48 votes
of the necessary 60 votes for the proposal to proceed. On Sep. 30, 2004, the US House of Representatives also rejected a
constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage by a vote of 227 to 186, 49 votes shy of the necessary two-thirds majority. [27]
(Click to enlarge image)
Out-of-wedlock births in the Netherlands, 1970-2003
Source: Stanley Kurtz, PhD, "Going Dutch?” www.weeklystandard.com, May 31,
2004
California, with the nation’s largest and most racially diverse gay and lesbian population, has played a prominent role in the
modern gay marriage debate. On Feb. 15, 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered the city to begin issuing
marriage licenses to same sex-couples. On Mar. 11, 2004 the California Supreme Court ordered a halt to same-sex weddings
and voided the marriages on Aug. 12, 2004. In a 4-3 ruling on May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court overturned state
laws banning gay marriage. [28] Between May 2008 and Nov. 4, 2008, an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples married in CA.
[29] On Nov. 4, 2008, 52.3% of California voters approved ballot measure Proposition 8 which made same-sex marriage illegal
in the state. On May 26, 2009, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8’s gay marriage ban, but on Aug. 4, 2010,
US District Judge Vaughn R. Walker struck down Proposition 8 (343 KB) . [41]. An Aug. 16, 2010 ruling by a three-judge panel
of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has put gay marriage in California on hold and plans to hear arguments the week of
Dec. 6, 2010. [30] Following Judge Walker's ruling, many organizations used the opportunity to express their views on gay
marriage.
(Click to enlarge image)
US gay marriage polls, 1988-2010
Source: Nate Silver, "Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Appears to Shift at
Accelerated Pace,” www.fivethirtyeight.com, Aug. 12, 2010
On Aug. 4, 2010, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints released a statement saying, "Marriage between a man and
a woman is the bedrock of society." [33] On Aug. 10, 2010, the American Bar Association's House of Delegates voted to
support gay marriage. [31] The following day, the American Psychological Association reiterated its support for same-sex
marriage. [32] In a Sep. 13, 2010 speech, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his opposition to gay marriage, saying the Roman
Catholic Church "cannot approve of legal initiatives that imply a re-evaluation of the life of the couple and the family." [34]
From 1988 to 2010, public support for gay marriage has increased at a rate of 1 to 1.5 points per year, with evidence to
suggest an acceleration of support since 2009. [35] On Aug. 11, 2010, CNN released the results of the first national poll to
show a majority support for gay marriage, with 52% agreeing that "gays and lesbians should have a constitutional right to get
married and have their marriage recognized by law as valid.” [36]
On July 19, 2011, the Obama administration announced that it will support a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to repeal
the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This follows President Obama's decision on Feb. 23, 2011 to instruct the Justice
Department to stop defending DOMA, the federal law that defines marriage as a legal union between a man and woman, over
concerns that it violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment. [57] [58]
The following states allow gay marriage as of July 20, 2011: Massachusetts (May 17, 2004), Connecticut (Nov. 12, 2008),
Iowa (Apr. 24, 2009), Vermont (Sep. 1, 2009), New Hampshire (Jan. 1, 2010), New York (June 24, 2011), and the District of
Columbia (Mar. 3, 2010). [1]
As of Sep. 15, 2010, the following 10 countries allow same-sex couples to marry (21 KB) : the Netherlands (2000), Belgium
(2003), Canada (2005), Spain (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway (2009), Sweden (2009), Argentina (2010), Iceland (2010),
and Portugal (2010). [39] Gay couples are allowed to wed in parts of Australia and Mexico.