Persuasive Essay: Gay Marriage Essay

â€Å"‘Kristin, you may kiss your bride, Kayla’† (qtd. in WCIV 1). These were the words that officially announced Kristin Anderson and Kayla Bennett the first same ­sex couple in South th​ Carolina on November 19​ , 2014 (WCIV 1). The historic day was filled with love and support from families around the country and the community in general. It was also a day where they found a peace of mind after the stress they received from the previous month where they had the marriage license and the wedding date set, but only to be taken away by the state’s Attorney General once he filed appeals against the marriages. â€Å"‘We were so excited to apply for the marriage license so when they took it away from us, it was like pulling the rug out from under our feet. Everything we were excited about just came crashing down’† (qtd. in WCIV 1). But then the wedding proceeded which allowed the couple to feel like they are truly married and finally allowed to have a family of their own (WCIV 1). Changes like these are happening all over the country, but the heated debate still goes on. One of the most common arguments is that people should not have their taxes going towards something they strictly believe is wrong (Marcellino et al. 1). Once gay marriages are legalized, benefits going to heterosexual couples would naturally go to same ­sex couples. Those benefits include claiming a tax exemption for a spouse, receiving social security payments from a deceased spouse, and coverage by a spouse’s health insurance policy. While this is true, the taxes the people will be spe nding legalizing same ­sex couples will eventually come back and help the state or country economically (Marcellino et al. 3 ­5). A decade long study by M.V. Lee Badgett and other economists concluded that planning marriages would make at least $1.5 billion dollars because of all the necessities of a wedding ceremony (Badgett 3). Legalizing same sex ­marriage should not be about believing what people think it is morally wrong or right, but factually based on the better of the economy and for the country as a whole. At UCLA School of Law, researchers studied the economics of those 11 states where same ­sex marriage is prohibited (Chokshi 1). The results were shocking and saw that the states would make more than $464 million in their first year of legalizing same ­sex marriages (Chokshi 1). Based off of real life situations, New York’s Marriage Equality Act brought $259 million to the city after only a year (Covert 3). Given these reasons, the South Carolina Supreme Court should legalize same ­sex marriage because it would bring financial gain to federal and state governments, allow same ­sex couples to receive the same insurance benefits as heterosexual couples, and make it easier for same ­sex couples to adopt, providing stable homes for children who would otherwise be left in foster care.