Why legalizing gay marriage benefits society

Last Updated 07.08.2018
2 min read
Taimi

Gay marriage is perhaps one of the most debated and heated topicsin modern society. While there are many people out there who understand that gay marriage is a basic civil right that has to be taken for granted, there are still many friends of ours who might need a constructive and convincing factually based argument to change their mind. Here are some of the things to keep in mind next time you start arguing about gay marriages.To begin with, gay marriages can bring financial gain to local governments and can help boost the economy. In July 2012 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that gay marriage had contributed $259 million to the city’s economy since the practice became legal there in July 2011. In 2012, the Williams Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) found that in the first five years after Massachusetts legalized gay marriage in 2004, same-sex wedding expenditures (such as venue rental, wedding cakes, etc.) added $111 million to the state’s economy.If the money-related argument doesn’t sound convincing enough, keep in mind that gay couples make good parents. A June 2014 peer-reviewed University of Melbourne study showed that children raised by same-sex parents score about six percent higher than the general population on measures of general health and family cohesion. A study published in Pediatrics on June 7, 2010 found that children of lesbian mothers were rated higher than children of heterosexual parents in social and academic competence and had fewer social problems. A July 2010 study found that children of gay fathers were “as well-adjusted as those adopted by heterosexual parents.” As former Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein wrote, “We should be begging gay couples to adopt children. We should see this as a great boon that gay marriage could bring to kids who need nothing more than two loving parents.”Just think about it — in the United States, around 115,000 children are waiting to be adopted. Why not let the loving parents who can ensure a quality life for their kid to have a right to raise them? To add to that, March 2013 meta-analysis from the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that inhibiting same-sex parents’ ability to marry could create stress in family settings that could inhibit children’s development. The study concluded that barriers to equal treatment for same-sex couples should be removed, and all couples should be evaluated on competency rather than sexual orientation.Finally, a society where all people are treated equally is a healthy and prosperous one. Because only in a tolerant society, its members feel included, appreciated and motivated to contribute to its development.

By TAIMI on August 7, 2018.Canonical linkExported from Medium on July 7, 2020.


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