Pierce 1Nicolette PierceBennettComp 2 12:00April 25, 2014Gay MarriageGay marriage is a controversial topic these days. So many couples are fighting for equality, and it could pay off if more and more places in the United States accepted gay marriage and gave them these traditional marriage rights that heterosexuals enjoy. Today, seventeen states recognize gay marriage, and some are trying to reject it and enact religious rejection laws against gay marriage. Gay marriage is an issue that people say states should decide. These gay bans have recently been eliminated by federal law. “Many argue that the recent string of states lifting bans on gay marriage is evidence of the inevitable acceptance of federal law” (Brody). Marriage is a fundamental right for everyone, not just gay people. “Gay marriage is coming to all 50 states as a matter of constitutional right” (Goetting). “With the power of both popular and institutional support, same-sex couples across the nation are mounting numerous challenges to this states' rights-based approach to marriage equality” (Matthes, Carl). In Arkansas, a ban could be in the 2014 election if nearly 73,000 people sign the petition. Justice Scalia has made many comments about his support for gay marriage. “Nearly 50,000 couples have married since 2004” (Ocobock, Abigail). As of July 2012, six states and the District of Columbia legally allow gays to marry. People are more prejudiced against gays than against lesbians. Pierce 2Raunch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “I think I understand the public indifference towards ENDA because, to be honest, I share it. ENDA was an outgrowth of the gay civil rights movement of the 1970s and 1980s, which in its time imitated the black civil rights movement's emphasis on discrimination.... middle of paper ......would be raised by a man and a woman. Some states such as Utah and Mississippi ban gay couples to undergo the adoption process Gay couples face many difficulties in order to do so banning gay marriage is unfair, love is all that matters in marriage Some people say that gay families have certain family values ​​that some marriages lack heterosexuals. The church and the state are two different things nothing to do with state decisions. The legalization of gay marriage will have no impact on the religion and religious opinions of others, just as religion should have no impact on the issue of. gay marriage. Gay people are allowed civil unions but not civil marriage union and marriage are two different things. Civil union is the legally recognized union of a homosexual couple, with the same rights as marriage.