I believe that ideas of equality and general happiness are crucial for modern society, and LGBT people are subjects of those rights too. They should be able to marry, live together, and have access to all welfare of society. For me, they are people similar to heterosexual people; they are community members and should have equal rights with everyone else. There is no harm to society from gays, lesbians, or their marriages, and no reason to limit their rights. Same-sex marriages are OK, and there should be no obstacles for everyone who wants to get married.
I cannot see any proof that LGBT people or their marriages can cause harm to society: there is no proof of that. In the research of Langbein et al., researchers studied the effect of same-sex marriage legalization on the rise of childhood poverty, divorce rates, marriage rates, and single-parent household fractions in the United States (4-5). However, none of those rates were found connected with same-sex marriages. Divorce and marriage rate changes continue their trend after the legalization (Langbein et al. 7-8). The single-parent household fraction does not change: thus, it is not essential whether it is an LGBT parent in such a one-parent family or not (Langbein et al. 8-9). Children’s poverty rates remained unchanged and slightly decreased after the legalization (Langbein et al. 6-7). I think that LGBT families are, in fact, beneficial for society, just as any other family: they work and pay taxes along with all.
LGBT people are happier in areas where same-sex marriages are allowed: providing them with a fundamental right to form families legally will increase their happiness. Before legalization, sexual minorities had, in general, less well-being than ordinary people (Boertien). Their lives were affected by institutional discrimination: they could not realize their family rights, for example, in medical institutions. It is hard to be happy when one’s close person is in the hospital, and one cannot even visit them legally; I think it is terrible. Despite usually hidden forms, society’s discrimination severely reduces the quality of life (Boertien). Allowing LGBT people to form marriages increases the total level of happiness between them and reduces tensions in society, and for me, it is the reason to allow same-sex marriages.
Their legalization influences society in a certain way: there are fewer prejudices toward gays and lesbians in areas where same-sex marriages are legal. In the United Kingdom, after the legalization of same-sex marriages, social stigma has gradually reduced, and same-sex couples’ well-being has risen (Boertien). In the United States, prejudices toward LGBT people have decreased gradually since 2006, both explicit and implicit (Ofosu et al., 8849). After full legalization at the state level, those prejudices started to decrease more rapidly; however, in the states that did not pass local legalization, those levels did not fall and even started to increase (Ofosu et al., 8849-8850). I conclude from it that legalization makes society more tolerant, less prejudiced, and, consequently, safer and more secure. Such influence of same-sex marriages is, in fact, positive: while there can be discussion about the moral side of same-sex marriages, more tolerant and safe society is clearly an advantage.
For me, the opinion that same-sex marriages are OK and should be allowed is obvious: LGBT people have the same rights as all humans. Not only from a social or legal point of view, but just from a person, they are sentient human beings and should not be discriminated against in any way. All people have the right to be personally happy, regardless of sex, race, orientation, nationality, class, or work occupation. The only reason that the legalization of same-sex marriages has a positive impact on the well-being of LGBT people is enough to legalize them (Boertien). Discrimination harms individuals and society: it creates a feeling of insecurity in all its members. If some group of people is discriminated against, everyone suffers from it. Although slowly, the percentage of the population in the U.K. and the U.S. who accept same-sex marriage legalization is growing; in other European countries, the situation is similar (Haslam). In my opinion, societies in those countries have become healthier and more developed, and it can be proven by research that shows an increase in people’s well-being in those countries in general.
Based on scientific research, I think same-sex marriages are OK and, if allowed, are beneficial for society. They do not make the community less developed or stable; they do not worsen the demography or harm heterosexual people. This legalization makes society better developed: it reduces tensions in society and makes it more tolerant and secure in general. LGBT people only want to live their lives happily and have fundamental rights available to others, such as the right to form families and freedom from discrimination. I believe that this desire is fundamental and should be satisfied in any well-developed society; when discrimination becomes widespread in society, everyone suffers from it. In that way, same-sex marriages should be legalized in all countries that strive for development.
Works Cited
Boertien, Diederik. “Legalizing Same-Sex Marriages Improves Subjective Well-Being (in England and Wales).” N-IUSSP, 2021.
Haslam, Nick. “Attitudes to Same-Sex Marriage Have Many Psychological Roots, and They Can Change.” The Conversation, 2017.
Langbein, Laura, et al. “The Anti-Social Effects of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage: Fact or Fiction?” Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 2020. pp. 1-18.
Ofosu, Eugene K., et al. “Same-Sex Marriage Legalization Associated with Reduced Implicit and Explicit Antigay Bias.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116, no. 18, 2019, pp. 8846–51.