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When people think of gay rights they think that homosexual people want to have special rights, rights that heterosexuals do not have, but this idea is entirely wrong. Homosexuals just want to have the same rights as heterosexuals, nothing more, and nothing less. Homosexuals are a growing minority with nearly a million gays and lesbians identifying themselves as members of same-sex couples in the 2000 census. But the total gay population is much larger, since the census didn’t provide an opportunity for single homosexuals to identify their sexual orientation, and didn’t count gay couples who live apart (Mason 1). There are no legitimate reasons why homosexuals should not have the same rights as heterosexuals. Our country disgraces itself when it “[…] accepts homosexuality as a sufficient cause for deprivation of normal civil rights […]” (Nava, Dawidoff 144). If a homosexual is United States citizen, they should receive the same rights as all other citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation. Gay men and lesbians deserve the right to marry, to not be discriminated against, and to be in the military.
Marriage is ever changing. Wives are now equal rather than subordinate partners; interracial marriage is now widely accepted; and marital failure itself, rather than the fault of one partner, may be grounds for a divorce (Stoddard 32). With all of these changes would it not be accurate to say that legalizing and recognizing same-sex marriages is the next step? Marriage is more than a commitment to love one another. “Aside from societal and religious conventions, marriage entails legally imposed financial responsibility and legally authorized financial benefits. Marriage provides automatic legal protections for the spouse, including medical visitation, succession of a deceased spouse’s property, as well as pension and other rights” (Stoddard 41). Same-sex couples do not want to get married to rub it in homosexual couples faces, they want to do it in order to...