Should same-sex marriages be legal in the United States? Marriage has the power to change lives in an instant. For most people, marriages invoke images of a man and a woman being joined together forever. But for gays and lesbians, having the chance to enter into marriage is a far-off dream, not a reality. This exclusion is an obvious form of discrimination, carried out by our legal system. The government should not be able to forbid anyone from legally declaring his or her love. Discrimination against a particular group of people because of race, color or religion is prohibited by our constitution. Homosexuals are denied these basic rights, not because of race, religion, or color, but because of sexual orientation. Homosexual couples should be entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples.
             Interracial marriages were made legal by the Supreme Court in 1967. Before that time marriage between two different races was illegal. Unbelievable as that may seem, it was against the law to marry outside your race before 1967. The Supreme Court concluded that because laws against interracial marriages served no purpose other than discrimination, they should be eliminated (Ruling Favorable to Gay Marriage). Today we face a similar issue, but in this debate, the subject is no longer race, but sexual preference. Isn't granting the right to marry due to sexual orientation a form of discrimination as well? Since our society has been making major strides inequality, both in gender and race issues, we should not and cannot leave sexual equality out. Laws against gay marriages serve no purpose other than to discriminate based on sexual orientation. Discrimination is illegal based on our constitution, and therefore they should also be eliminated.
             Opponents to gay sexual unions have always used one powerful argument. They state marriage is an institution for procreation and the continuation of the species. If marriage is intended only for...