Lenson 1

Lauren Lenson
Geist
HELA
19 February 2016
Love Has No Gender
Drew Barrymore once said that No one has any right to tell anyone what makes a
family. People all over the world make slurs and discriminate against gay people, especially gay
marriage. Everyone has a right to love and marry whom they choose, no matter the gender.
Same-sex marriage should be allowed in every state because it is written in the Constitution, and
marriage is not only designed for procreation. Opposing views argue that same-sex marriage
isnt acceptable because children need both a mother and a father figure, and marriage is
designed solely for procreation. Nobody can control who they fall in love with, and people
should not be penalized for loving their same gender.
People who find themselves to be gay suffer from others calling them derogatory terms
which leads them to live in constant fear over something that they shouldnt be embarrassed
about. Nobody deserves to be put down or discriminated against for their sexuality, what people
do deserve is equality. Gays and lesbians deserve equal respect and dignity under the due
process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. Unions dont compare to the
profoundness of matrimony because marriage embodies the ideals of love, fidelity, devotion,
sacrifice and family (Savage, Equal Dignity Under the Law). Allowing any gay couple to
marry would help to build a stronger community as well, one free from hate and discrimination
over ones sexuality. If America is the Land of the Free, then all people, no matter who they love,
should be able to partake in their fair share of freedom. The decision to accept gay marriage

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affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts: that when all Americans are
treated as equal, all are free, (Savage, Equal Dignity Under the Law).
If marriage is created for procreation, then why are infertile couples and couples who do
not desire to have children allowed to get married? Gay marriage also should be allowed because
marriage is not designed purely for procreation. Marriage is about love above all other things.
Yes, a factor of marriage can be for procreation but that is not the entirety of marriage. Love is
therefore the unitive factor in marriage, and not the structure of sexual compatibility nor the
capacity to produce offspring, (Simpson, The Purpose of Marriage is Not Procreation).
Simpson also stresses that love is the leading factor is marriage, not procreation. Although those
who are bonded in a same-sex marriage cannot have children, they can and do adopt. The act of
adopting a child is generally associated with couples unable to bear natural children, (Ten
beautiful reasons for adopting a child). LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual) parents
give many children hope by adopting and a majority of adopted kids are raised by same-sex
couples. Same-sex parents in the United States are four times more likely than different-sex
parents to be raising an adopted child. Among couples with children under the age of 18 in the
home, 13% of same-sex parents have an adopted child, compared to just 3% of different-sex
parents, proving that those involved in a same-sex marriage do in fact raise children, they just
cant naturally make children, and proving the point that marriage is not only designed for
procreation (Lgbt Adoption). If marriage was solely for procreation, then children would not
be adopted.
On the contrary many people claim that gay marriage is unnatural. It has been argued that
it is vital that a child is raised by a mother and a father, it takes a man and a woman to make a
child, and that happens to be the ideal setting for nurturing the child, (Faust, Kids Like Me

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Need a Mom and a Dad). However this is inaccurate because a gay couple is perfectly capable
of raising a perfectly normal child together. Another stance people take against gay marriage is
that people involved in a same-sex marriage are incapable of producing children on their own.
This point is valid but also isnt 100% accurate because a large number of kids that are adopted
in America have been adopted by a gay couple.
In conclusion gay marriage should be accepted throughout the United States because it is
protected under the 14th Amendment in the constitution for people to marry who they choose
and everyone deserves equality. Marriage is also not designed solely for procreation and even
though gay people cannot produce children, they do adopt. While some think that gay marriage
should not be accepted because its said that children need a natural mother and father in their
life, it should be accepted because marriage is about love. Anyone should be able to marry whom
they choose and not have to live in the fear that society will not accept their sexuality.
Grading
Criteria

Description

Points

Content
and Ideas

Clear argument about social issue

Support uses
ethos
logos
pathos
4 or more credible sources used
Antithesis addressed and refuted

0
=

Effective introduction and conclusion

include hook, thesis, and final statement

3 organized paragraphs include claims,

explanations, and transitions

Sequence is logical

Writing is all in 3rd person

Quotations are embedded and properly

cited within the essay

Organization

Diction/
Syntax/
Conventions

10

20

30

40

30/40 Mady- use more article evidence

or constitutional evidence on why it
should be equal
38/40 Jacob - Good evidence and
sources, maybe some more rhetoric
38/40 Self grade
10

20

30

30/30 Mady- well organized so far

30/30 Jacob - Organization is great, and
sequence makes sense
30/30 Self grade
5

10 15

15/15 Mady- way to be

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Publication/
Appearance

0-3 Errors in grammatical structure

Creative title/rough draft ready on

editing day 2/16-17

Proper MLA formatting; heading that

includes student name, instructors name,
class, and date

Works cited page is appended.

15/15 Jacob - grammatically correct

15/15 Self grade

10 15

15/15 Mady- way to be

15/15 Jacob - Correct MLA usage
15/15 Self grade

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Works Cited
Savage, David G., and Timothy M. Phelps. "'Equal Dignity' Under the Law." Los Angeles Times.
27 Jun. 2015: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

Simpson, Eric. "The Purpose of Marriage Is Not Procreation." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

"Ten 'beautiful' Reasons for Adopting a Child." - India Parenting. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

"Lgbt Adoption." LGBT Adoption Statistics. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

Faust, Katy. "Kids Like Me Need a Mom and a Dad." USA TODAY. 28 Apr. 2015: A.7. SIRS
Issues Researcher. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.