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Alison Wootten
Final Paper
Missouri State University

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Living in a time with advancing technology and instantaneous communication
there is no faster way to get ones opinion known than on the social networking site
Facebook. According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2013, seventy-three percent of
online adults use the social networking site, Facebook (Pew, 2013). With this staggering
statistic there is no disputing Facebook is a very popular social media website.
Proposition eight hit the world of Facebook in the week leading up to March 26, 2012. In
that week it seemed as if nearly everyone was posting a red equal sign in support of the
Human Rights Campaign for equality. In reality, it didnt just appear as if nearly
everyone changed their profile picture to show their opinion on the topic, but statistics
show that 2.7 million people actually did (Pew, 2013). The Toulmin Model can be applied
to help better understand the components of the Human Rights Campaigns argument for
marriage equality, and provide insight into the reasoning behind advocating for equality.
After one applies the Toulmin Model to the topic of marriage equality, they can better
understand the elements of the argument and can better evaluate it.
The Toulmin Model is a diagram of an argument that includes; a claim, the
grounds, the warrant, backing, modality, and a rebuttal. According to Owlet in, Toulmins
Analysis, Stephen Toulmin, a modern rhetorician, believed that few arguments actually
follow classical models of logic like the syllogism, so he developed a model for
analyzing the kid of argument you read and hear everyday (2012, p.1). The first
component of Toulmins model is the claim. The claim is the statement which the arguer
whishes for the audience to believe. The claim can be made in any tense, but must be a
declarative statement that advocates a belief. There are several different types of claims.
These types include, claims of fact, claims of value, and claims of policy. Claims of facts

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can be verified, an example of this could be that there are more teen pregnancies in 2014
than there were 100 years ago. This statistic can be proven either true or false, therefore it
is a claim of fact. A claim of value is an indication of a preference or judgment. An
example of this can be seen in the claim that we should not tolerate the number of high
school dropouts. The final type of claim is the claim of policy. This claim asserts that
something needs to be done. Typically these claims use the words should or ought. An
example of a claim of policy could be, the federal government ought to create a program
to help those considering dropping out of school. The second part of Toulmins model is
the grounds. These are the foundation of the claim. This is also known as the support of
the claim. The grounds, or support, can include everything from statistics, factual
statements, proof, accepted principles, etc. Following the grounds there is the warrant.
The warrant is the reasoning that authorizes the inferential leap from the grounds to the
claim. Next, there is the backing. This is the support of the warrant. The backing works
to connect the ground to the claim. This component is sometimes viewed as a second
claim. The modality is the degree of certainty the advocate makes the claim. It is common
to find words such as possibly, may, or might in the modality component of the model.
Finally, there is the rebuttal. The rebuttal is the exceptions that might be offered to the
claim. In some cases the advocate may present rebuttals when presenting their argument.
An example to better understand Toulmins Model can be shown with the claim that, you
should buy Crests tooth-whitening product. The grounds, or support, could be that
studies have shown that teeth are 50% whiter after using the product. The warrant of the
claim could be that, the main goal of the tooth-whitening product is to have whiter teeth
in five days. The backing, people enjoy having whiter teeth, and do not want to wait a

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long time to see results. The modality, 85 percent of people who switch to Crest saw
results within three days. Finally, the rebuttal, there were some cases in which people
report no change in their teeth color. Although this example is not a life or death
argument, by applying the Toulmin Model one is able to better analyze the argument and
form an opinion on the topic.
In the past ten years the United States has had much debate on the topic of
marriage equality. Should or shouldnt marriage between same-sex people be allowed? In
2013 the red equal sign bombarded the world of Facebook, but what exactly did it mean?
The Human Rights Campaign started the movement to get people to show their support
for equality. This all took place as the Supreme Court heard arguments on the heavily
debated topic of marriage equality. The court was discussing Californias Proposition 8
law, which bans the right for same-sex couples to marry. The court was also hearing
arguments regarding the national Defense of Marriage Act, which has legally defined
marriage as a union between a man and a woman since 1996 (Proposition 8, 2013). The
topic of the Human Rights Campaign can be better understood if the Toulmin model is
applied.
When applying the Toulmin Model to the topic of marriage equality what exactly
was the claim everyone was making with the simple red equal sign? The Human Rights
Campaign, along with everyone who posted the popular red equal sign, claimed that
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should have equal rights as opposite sex
relationships including being legally allowed to marry. This claim was one of policy;
because it made the assertion that something should be done about the current rights of
same-sex couples. This claim by the Human Rights Campaign and the people who

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posted the equality picture was used to support the banishment of Proposition 8 and the
Defense of Marriage Act. Proposition 8 was enacted in California in 2008 saying that
only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California
according to Freedom to Marrys article Proposition 8 (Proposition 8, 2013). The issue
with the law was whether equal protection under the law prevents states from excluding
same-sex couples from being allowed to be legally married. This law was overturned in a
five to four vote in 2010 when a federal judge ruled it was unconstitutional. The law was
reinstated in 2009. The Defense of Marriage Act, often referred to as DOMA, was put
into place in 1996 and was a federal law that allows states to refuse to recognize samesex marriages granted under the laws of other states. The Human Rights Campaign
became popular in 2013 because the Supreme Court was voting to overturn these laws,
therefore allowing equality. Because of this vote, many people uploaded this picture,
therefore making the claim.
There are several statistics that could be used for the grounds, or evidence to
support the claim for equality. The first piece of evidence that could be used for the claim
is; according to CNN, 53% of Americans support gay marriage as of 2013. Politico said
in their article, Gay marriage facts and statistics 2013, 9 million Americans are gay,
lesbian, bisexual or transgender (Stark, 2013). Because the majority of people support
gay marriage and the large number of people who fall under the type of people the
Human Rights Campaign is advocating for, these statistics support the claim that
lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people should have equal rights as opposite-sex
relationships.

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The warrant for our example aims to connect the claim and grounds. In our
situation the claim; lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people should have equal
rights as opposite-sex couples, including the right to legally marry, can be related to the
statistics that say a majority of Americans support same sex marriage and the statistic that
tells the number of those who are either lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. One of the
main ideas of the Human Rights Campaign is to generate support for marriage equality
for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender. A strong warrant for this example would be;
with a majority of people in America supporting marriage equality and high percentage of
people falling in the category of people they are advocating for, there should be marriage
equality in America.
Not only do a majority of people support marriage equality, but there has also
been an astonishing growth of same-sex couples. The backing for this example would be;
between the years of 2000 and 2010 the percentage of same-sex couples grew 80%
according to CNN (Stark, 2013). The growth in the number of same-sex couples has
continued since 2010. Because of the growth over these years, many predict that the total
number of same-sex relationships will continue to grow every year. Along with the
increase in the number of same-sex relationships, the amount of support for marriage
equality will continue to increase as well. With the growth in support, the United States
will eventually have to make accommodations.
The modality is simply the degree of certainty the advocate has that the claim is
true. For this example the Supreme Court will probably support the Human Rights
Campaign for equality by overturning Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.

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The final step in the Toulmin Model is the rebuttal. The rebuttal for our example
could be that; biblically speaking a marriage is between a man and a woman. Several
people, including some that preside on the Supreme Court, believe this statement. Due to
this belief, a number of people are inclined to disagree with marriage equality and are
likely to vote against it.
There is no doubt that the topic of marriage equality is a heavily debated one.
During the week leading up to the Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 8 and the
Defense of Marriage Act there was no denying arguments ran ramped, especially on the
social networking site Facebook. People would post the red equal sign to show their
support, but in reality it was more than just a picture. Whether knowingly or not, those
who posted the Human Rights Campaigns red equal sign were in a very nonconformational way were supporting the argument the Human Rights Campaign was
generating for marriage equality. In the end of the argument the Supreme Court ruled
against Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. With this ruling, same-sex
couples in California can legally marry. The Toulmin Model broke down the argument for
marriage equality, so it could more easily be understood. Whether one supports the stance
of marriage equality or not, it is always important to analyze the argument a person or
group of people are trying to make. Most people in the world today have strong opinions
either for or against same-sex marriage. Through the social networking site, Facebook,
the Human Rights Campaign and several people were able to voice their support on the
topic of marriage equality.

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Works Cited
N.A. (2013). Polling tracks growing and increasingly diverse support for
the freedom to marry. Freedom to marry. Retrieved from
http://www.freedomtomarry.org/resources/entry/marriage-polling
N.A. (2013). Gay marriage facts and statistics 2013. Politico. Retrieved
from http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/gay-marriage-factsand-statistics-2013-89376.html
Stark, Caitlin. (2013). By the numbers; same-sex marriage. Retrieved
from http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/11/politics/btn-same-sexmarriage.
Toulmin, Stephen. (2012). Toulmins Analysis. Owlet. Retrieved from
http://owlet.letu.edu/contenthtml/research/toulmin.html