Defining Marriage

Lately the definition of marriage is causing tremendous controversy in the United States. Organization such as Human Rights Campaign have formed and advocated for people who are homosexuals. Particularly in Indiana, it has become a heated debate as Governor Mike Pence is pushing legislators to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Even if a gay couple were to get a certificate at the court making them a legal union, Governor Pence wishes to incriminate those people and fine them a set fee for even trying. There is not much justification for people being judgmental and prejudice toward the gay community. The largest group that opposes them is the evangelical Republicans who see that a 1 out of 30,000 scriptures in the Bible justifies their actions, which wasn't originally in the Bible till after a revised edition was released. When it comes to Christianity, from my perspective, Jesus taught us to be loving and forgiving to all and to judge others is a sin. Beside the point, many who have the perception that gays are unequal are limited and are slowly going away.

Not only is this unethical to treat people unequally, but it is also hurtful to the economy. We can analyze the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s when African-Americans participated in peaceful protests to stand against oppression to see examples as to how minorities play a role in the community. One specific example of how the economy was affected during the Civil Rights Movement was the bus boycott in Alabama. Since African-Americans used the bus frequently and were treated unfairly, they decided to take action and not ride the buses at all. Eventually this created such a hurtful impact to the economy politicians had no choice but to meet those demands. Similar economic downfalls happened when African-Americans did things such as attend a theater, eat a restaurant, etc. that were illegal to them due to race that they were arrested for causing jails to be overcrowded to the point that it was hurting the economy and overcrowding the jails resulting in their release. By discriminating against a group of people, you discourage growth in the area because you are discouraging investors and people to come to your state. Not only does it deter people from moving to the community and creating a positive and stable economy, it also deters potential employers from coming to that area because they do not see any potential of growth in the community. So far organizations such as Eli-Lilly (one of the largest employers in Indiana) and Indiana University (one of the biggest and most accredited public schools in the Midwest) have openly opposed the bill HJR-6 (bill defining marriage in Indiana) because they understand how much it will hurt Indiana's economy by opposing a large population in the country and saying "we don't want you here". There are also many legal ramifications creating much dispute in insurance claims as well as wills that would hurt the economy further by not allowing certain tax incentives to gay couples. It is essential that a state like Indiana as well has many other states do not follow the idea of defining marriage in their state because it will not only create similar social problems like those in the 1960s, but it will also be hurtful to the economy by setting a standard that people are not created equal. It is a standard by the United States Constitution that we are all created equal with the same rights and discriminating against a minority and claiming them as unequal is both unethical and hurtful to the economy.