All+men+are+created+equal

All men are created equal. This is arguably the most popular, simplest phrase of the United States Declaration of Independence, yet when it comes to homosexuals the law becomes complex. Gays rights in America, specifically gay marriage, are a substantial issue that needs to be solved. Nowhere in the constitution is marriage defined, but for some reason people believe that same-sex marriage is against the law. Homophobia, which is an extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexual people, is spread all across the country and extends all the way around the world. Homophobes are clearly the biggest reason why gay rights cannot move forward. The U.S. Studies found that homophobia is more common in people thirty or under, but even more commonly in high school students. To determine if Pascack Valley High School was against gay marriage or supported it there was an online survey sent to the student body. Marriage: the formal union of a man and woman, typically recognized by law by which they become husband and wife. By this definition calling a union between two gay people contradicts the word marriage. However, there has never been any fixed definition of the word nor does the constitution state anywhere that two people of the same sex should not be married, therefore it is left to the states to decide. As recently as 2000, in Alabama and Texas homosexuality has been considered a crime and those who are homosexual are to be sent to jail. Marriage is a celebration of two people who are in love, regardless if they are heterosexual or homosexual. There are many women and men in the world who are unable to reproduce. Children need a mother and father in a traditional family setting to insure they are raised properly. The divorce rate, the number of children being raised by single parents, the number of failed marriages, the number of domestic abused cases, is that what society considers the ideal marriage? The number of babies who are produced by drug addicts, alcoholism, teenagers, unwanted pregnancies, there are millions of babies who are looking for homes for a better life. Two loving parents, regardless if they are the same sex is a much better environment. Ideal marriage should be strong parental love, so how could they not be great parents? Many couples have chosen to not have children because of their careers, economic situations or inability to reproduce. If someone cannot conceive a baby with their loved one, it does not mean their marriage should be void, and that is just the same as gays being together. In many studies, it has been found that not only is homophobia more frequent in youth, but it is tremendously common in males. Homophobia is more prevalent in males because of the peer pressure to be masculine. Males are emotionally less mature and have difficulty accepting same-sex relationships and marriage. Sensitivity and compassion matures over time and females even at 15, 16, or 17, are emotionally more mature, which is why females are more accepting of gays. Another major factor in why homophobia exists is the fear of loss of control. When a person has a different lifestyle than the "norm," they represent a threat to the ego since a person will unconsciously question their own choice and security. They may feel competitive about which choice will be a success (ego) and therefore become biased toward gay people. If someone is asked if they approve of gay marriage there are only two answers, yes or no. Though many people like to beat around the bush and say they do not care or it does not concern them, they have a one-word answer in the back of their head. “The idea of homosexuality is an issue that many people do not want to confront or deal with,” says our expert Jeff Jasper. To see what Pascack Valley thinks about gay marriage, our group sent out an online survey to the student body. We chose to do an online survey instead of going class-to-class because we found that students, mostly boys, will not give their honest answer while in front of their peers. Our survey consisted of three questions; are you a male or female, do you approve of gay marriage, and why or why not. We were able to see the results as they came in and we were able to determine that the majority of “no” responses were from males. Our expert believed that “homophobia in males is much more dominant because of their machismo.” In total 382 students took the survey, 133 males and 249 females. Out of everyone who took the survey, 319 (83.5%) of those students said yes, they do approve gay marriage and only 64 (16.75%) students said no, they do not approve. This data told us that more than ¾ of the school is accepting of gay marriage. The small 16.75% of students who did not approve of gay marriage did not give good reasons to why not. A majority of the reasons were asinine and rude, such as; “because it is gay,” “god made Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve,” and “because gays are wrong.” The reasons of the 83.5% who approved gay marriage had very thought-out reasons, such as; “Because I do not see how it is wrong, love is not a disease. Nobody should be denied their right to marry the one they love” and “marriage isn't a privilege for a few people "lucky" enough to be born straight.” The most excellent reason we received to why gay marriage should be approved was extremely well written and made great points. The anonymous response was, “ I absolutely support gay marriage because every citizen deserves to have civil rights, regardless of their sexual orientation. People who deny gay marriage are simply afraid. Many love to hide behind religion. Ignorance is not bliss. It is costing many a couple their basic rights as American citizens to marry.” Overall, we found our survey exceedingly valuable for determining a solution for gay rights in America. Gay's limited rights are a big issue in America. It is very unfortunate that just because someone was born to love someone of the same sex, they cannot be happy in life. People all over the world need to learn to accept gays for who they are and realize that it does not concern them. Gays will be together, married or not, so why deny them their right to marry? Just because emotionally immature people do not want to accept gay marriage does not mean that every state in America should make it illegal. Homophobia is a ludicrous disorder; it only exists because people do not feel comfortable with their own sexuality or because they are not mature enough to handle something that is not completely “normal.” The statistics show that the majority of our high school accepts gay marriage, so why can’t the rest of the country?