It is no secret that the debate of same-sex marriage has grown to a fever pitch lately. In the past few elections, presidential candidates have bases some of their campaigns around allowing or banning same-sex marriage, which has influenced large masses of people, and essentially splitting our population into those who support it, and those who do not. Those who support it believe that people of the same gender should get the same marriage rights as opposite-sex couples. Likewise, those who do not support it believe that marriage should stay the way that we’ve known it for a while. It’s important to note, though, that the thought of same sex marriage is relatively new. No group would have even considered marrying two people of the same gender in the past. It wasn't until 20 or so years ago that we started to see these marriages occurring in other countries (Dreher). Therefore, it’s only natural that America would be split on whether we should be the next nation to allow it. The problem is that it doesn’t seem like we can reach a middle ground with this issue. It has been stated that only one side can win, and the other side will lose (Dreher). Both sides have valid points, but which side will be pleased at the resolve of this? Should same-sex marriage be allowed?

It almost seems that the amount of same-sex marriage supporters is overwhelming. Indeed, it is a large amount of people, and it might be close to the majority of people. A national poll that was conducted by the polling company Gallup “finds approval of same-sex marriage breaching 50 percent" (Rauch). With the approval rate near 50%, this means that almost 1 in every 2 people believe that same-sex marriage should be allowed, showing a split nation, and soon, it could be more than 1 in every 2 people. It's been shown that support for same-sex marriage is not only growing, but accelerating. Support has grown by 4% from 2011-2012, as opposed to 2009, when support increased by only 1.5% (Klarman). At that rate of acceleration, the approval rate will grow far past 50% in a matter of years. This statistic isn’t alone in suggesting that a majority will come soon, however. Only a few states have a majority of their citizens supporting same-sex marriage now, but it's been predicting that in a decade or so, no state will remain that doesn't have a majority supporting same-sex marriage (Klarman). So, according to the two statistics, not only will the majority of Americans support same-sex marriage soon, but every state in the United States will have a majority in support of it. This should please a lot of people, because “the number of Americans reporting that they know somebody who is openly gay tripled between 1985 and 2000, reaching 75%" (Klarman). This means that 3 in every 4 people probably have a coworker, peer, parent, child, neighbor, or other person of importance in their life, whom is unable to get married. If the person is very important to them, they’d probably want to see them be able to marry the person that they love.

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s a large group of people who think that same-sex marriage should be totally abolished. While there’s speculation that supporters will make up the majority soon, in the present time, the majority of people still do not support same-sex marriage. To date, there have been thirty-one direct votes of citizens in particular states that relate to allowing same-sex marriage. In all thirty-one votes, approval of same sex marriage never got the majority of the vote (Gallagher). Official state polls obviously have a lot of weight and credibility over unofficial polls, and the fact that no state poll has ever shown a majority in support of same-sex marriage can’t be argued with. Also, it’s not just the marriage aspect of it that some Americans don’t support. Even as support for same-sex marriage grows, there's still a good number of Americans that think children are better off with one mom and one dad, than with two dads or two moms (Gallagher). Since it could be argued that childhood is the most important part of a person’s life, it could be seen as vital that they have capable parents to guide them through it, and Americans don’t seem to think that two dads or two moms would be capable parents. Even if this changes, and more people begin to support same-sex marriage and parenting, it is true that allowing same-sex marriage would represent a “cultural revolution, a fundamental redefinition of what marriage means" (Dreher). It would be difficult to begin considering marriage as between two people of any gender, because we’ve always taught and have been taught that marriage is strictly between a man and a woman. Also, if there is a change of heart in most people, and they start supporting same-sex marriage, progress wouldn’t be made for a while. Most states have banned same-sex marriage “by constitutional decree. Absent a Supreme Court decision, those bans will take years to change" (Rauch). It would take time to change something that is a constitutional standard, so it is probably true that leaving marriage as it is would take much less effort and much less time.

There are both pros and cons to allowing same-sex marriage. In the eyes of some, allowing same-sex marriage would bring only good things to our society. Likewise, some people also believe that allowing it would destroy what we know about marriage. Both sides present good points, and it would not be easy to stick with one or the other. It is important to remember that this debate is nothing to be taken lightly. The outcome of it is crucial to the future of marriage in this country, which has a direct implication on further generations. They will see the effects of whatever decision is made, so this current generation must evaluate both sides and reach the best possible solution.