Equal Rights for ALL Americans Essay -- Gay Marriage, argumentative, p

Marriage has always been a sacred agreement between a man and woman. However, as times have changed, our ideas involving marriage are forced to change with the times. Our country has developed throughout the years to enforce the belief that all Americans should be granted equal rights no matter what their skin color or cultural background. Granting gays the right to marry would simply be giving all people equal rights in the issue of marriage. When it comes to the issue of gay marriage, Americans have many different views. Research shows that the majority of Americans oppose gay marriage, but when it comes to deciding who should make the laws, Americans are split in half (Bayles 6). 48% of Americans said that the federal government should make the laws and 46% say it should be left to the states (6). This information shows that the majority of Americans have strong opinions about the issue, but don’t know of any way to solve the issue (6). The controversy of gay marriage is seen even in groups who support strong marriages. Author Karen Peterson uses her article to address the issue of how gay marriage sits with the â€Å"marriage movement,† the coalition of professionals dedicated to strengthening marriages (7). This movement has successfully included pro-marriage initiatives across America and formed new high school courses on relationships (Peterson 7). Peterson finds that the â€Å"marriage movement† has many different views within itself and struggles with the question of â€Å"How can one be a proponent of marriage in general but oppose marriages between gays† (7). David Blankenhorn who is the founder of the Institute for American Values and an important member of the coalition, says that they ... ...g gay marriage is simply the next step that is necessary to support the growth and change of America’s people. Works Cited Bayles, Fred, and Andrea Stone. â€Å"Gay-marriages foes try to stop ‘activist courts.’† USA Today 25 Feb. 2014: 06a. Bennett, William. â€Å"Leave Marriage Alone.† Newsweek 3 June 1996: 27. Breslau, Karen, Brad Stone, Debra Rosenberg and Tamara Lipper. â€Å"Outlaw Vows.† Newsweek 1 Mar. 2004: 40. â€Å"Broken marriages, not gay nuptials, pose risk to kids.† USA Today 23 Feb. 2014: 18a. Peterson, Karen S. â€Å"On gays, ‘marriage movement’ is on both sides of the aisle.† USA Today 4 Aug. 2014: 07d. Dlugacz, Judy. â€Å"Same-sex marriage: Time to end the bigotry† CNBC Web 30 April 2015. http://www.cnbc.com/id/102624368 Taylor, Chris. â€Å"I Do: No You Don’t.† Time 1 Mar. 2009: 3c. â€Å"USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll.† USA Today 24 Feb. 2014: 06d.