Marriage Equality Is a Question of Personal Identity and Personal Freedoms

People often point to our founding fathers and our country's founding documents to make one point or another. Politicians and pundits on both sides of the aisle hail the Second Amendment, the Preamble, the division of powers, Jefferson's letter regarding the separation of church and state to drive their particular ideological point home. However, I am convinced that no founding phrase matters more than the following: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness".

Two hundred and forty years ago this was a declaration of independence; today, it is a declaration of equality. It is a declaration that no matter one's race, country of origin, parentage, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, living in the United States of America guarantees the right to a full, free, and happy life. This is what any argument regarding marriage equality should boil down to.

Get quality help now

Doctor Jennifer

Verified writer

Proficient in: Human rights

5 (893)

“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Marriage equality is not about religious liberty; it is not about taxes or loopholes or the separation of church and state or the different between a civil union and full marriage. It is about every American's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

For a gay person, just like any person, a full and free life may include the desire to commit to marriage with the person he or she loves. Or it may not. But only an individual can make that decision.

The government cannot make it for them, the church cannot make it for them, and lobbyists certainly cannot make it for them. As the Supreme Court stated in its landmark decision last year, "The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity.” Marriage equality, then, is not a political question; it is a question of personal identity, and personal freedoms, and the personal drive to live a life filled with happiness.

References

• Bill of Rights - National Archives
• Declaration of Independence: A Transcription | National Archives
• Second Amendment to the United States Constitution - Cornell Law School