Persuasive Essay on The Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage

📌Category: Family, LGBTQ+, Social Issues
📌Words: 670
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 05 February 2022

 

The topic of same-sex marriage and its legalization is definitely a controversial one. The very idea of homosexuality is very heavily demonized within many cultures around the world, and even now upwards of 69 countries around the world criminalize not only same-sex marriage but homosexuality as a whole. Thankfully enough, Canada is not amongst these countries and as of July 20th, 2005 same-sex marriage has been federally legalized and given the same equality as opposite-sex couples visa the Civil Marriage Act. And while the legalization of same-sex marriage was a tremendous victory for the LGBTQ+  community, it wasn’t achieved through dormancy. The battle for same-sex marriage equality in Canada spanned for decades before the Supreme Court of Canada ultimately ruled in its favour, and today the legal recognition of same-sex marriage is regarded as one of the most significant charter cases in Canadian history, but the question is why was it so significant?

In 2003 both British Columbia and Ontario became the first Canadian provinces to legalize same-sex marriage. Quebec, Yukon, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador followed suit in 2004, and then same-sex marriage was federally legalized on the 20th of July, 2005 under the Civil Marriage Act. The Constitutionality of this case came into question of whether or not the legalization of same-sex marriage violated the Charter and infringed upon religious freedoms, though it was later ruled that the proposed amendments to the federal definition of marriage did not violate the Charter and in fact, the amendment would uphold Charter rights, and it did not require religious officials to perform obligatory same-sex marriage ceremonies should they feel it was against their religion. 

The fight for legal recognition of same-sex marriage was not simply to declare one’s love for their partner in a legal manner, but for the legal benefits that 

accompanied. For instance, married couples in Canada are able to claim a spousal credit, have the ability to split pension income, transfer dividends, but among these benefits, the most important is the ability to visit your spouse whilst they are hospitalized. During the 1980s HIV/AIDS epidemic (formerly Gay-Related Immune Deficiency, or GRID) the homosexual population was hit particularly hard due to a lack of comprehensive sex education, little knowledge on the disease, and the heavy stigma that surrounded the homosexual “lifestyle”. This meant that many people afflicted with the disease were often ostracized by their loved ones for being gay,  and for this reason, many afflicted individuals died a lonely death surrounded by unfamiliar faces because non-family members were not permitted hospital visitation.

Amongst the legal benefits of same-sex marriage legalization comes improved health outcomes. It is no surprise that many LGBTQ individuals expirience a rift between themselves and the people around them due to the continued isolation brought onto the community by opposing institutions, the Christian Church comes to mind, but for decades researchers have observed the health disparities between those who identify as LGBTQ versus those who do not. Research shows that LGBTQ youths are twice as likely as their peers to attempt suicide, those who identify as lesbians are less likely to access preventitive services for cancer, and, among other things, LGBTQ people battle with higher rates of addiction. Though when same-sex marriage is legalized we see many improvements to these statistics. 

But why is all of this significant? As of 2018 well over 1 milion Canadians over the age of 15 identify as apart of the LGBTQ+ community, and this population is only growing. As the number of those who openly identify as LGBTQ+ increases so does the prevalence of same-sex marriage in our society. Canada is a country where diversity is welcomed; variety is what makes up our culture. But in all of the aforementioned information, one fact remains; those who identify as LGBTQ are just as human and just as deserving of the same rights as those who don’t. The legalization of same-sex marriage was the catalyste for the continued fight for equality rights for those who identify as LGBTQ+ and without fear of legal reparations for speaking out about ones identity, the legalization of same-sex marriage allows LGBTQ+ individuals to call out justice and to fight for equality where there is non. Our society is fashioned to benefit those who are heterosexual, and legalizing same-sex marriage helps to even out the playing field and allow for the beginning of true equality.

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