Legalizing Gay Marriage

Title: Legalizing gay marriage

Speaker: Raul
Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to allow gay marriage to
become legal.

I. Introduction
A. Attention-getter: Despite our many differences as humans, a vast majority
of us all go through life with one goal in mind. To find that special someone,
to find a friend who can help us through the many challenges of life, to marry
that one person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Humans long to
be united with someone like this, we need it like a child needs their nap, like
a lost dog needs a home, like a fish needs water. So why are we trying to
deny other humans of this need?
B. Establishment of ethos: My name is Raul, a fellow human in this world of
contradiction, and I am here to try and convince you to eradicate this
hypocrisy that plagues the minds of so many humans today.
(Transition) To begin,
II. Need
A. Main idea 1 with supporting material: looking at this topic from a
monetary standpoint, marriage is also a way for many couples to get
through financial difficulties.
1. Sub point: As mentioned in an article on PBS.org titled, The
Economic Benefits of Gay Marriage, by M.V. Lee Badgett,
director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration at
the University of Massachusetts Amherst, marriage can make
a big difference for couples financial well-being as well as
benefitting companies and even the American economy.
Unmarried couples cannot receive spousal health insurance
among others, and when citizens cannot receive preventative
care, they cost us all money. Companies are then forced to
assist those people with lower cash assistance and Medicaid
spending.
B. Main idea 2 with supporting material: In addition, an article on
Bullyingstatistics.org, titled Gay Bullying Statistics, states that in
recent findings, gay and lesbian teens are two to three times more
likely to commit suicide than other teens.
1. Sub point: Thirty percent of all completed
suicides have been related to sexual identity crisis, and
students who fall into the LGBT identity groups report
being five times more likely than others to miss or drop out
of school altogether. Why is this happening you ask? The
thousands of people who vote against gay marriage cause it
every day. Without legal support, homosexual
discrimination can still freely take place. These could be
kids our own age, our classmates even! Why should they be
forced to take abuse for something they have no control
over?
(Internal summary): All in all, its plain to see how voting against gay
marriage can cause so many problems for everyone living in the U.S., not just
the gays.
(Transition): To continue,
III. Satisfaction
A. Main idea 3 with supporting material: solving these problems can occur in
just a few simple steps.
1. Sub point: Even though we ninth graders are unable to vote, we could
still make a difference. The internet is a great source of knowledge,
containing millions of documents and articles written by many
respected authors and journalists. Something as simple as looking up
more ways to support the cause would help, because then we could
communicate with our parents, who make the real difference. Even if
you dont want to support this, you dont have to go the opposite way
and vote against it. What good would it do trying to prevent something
that only benefits people?
B. Main idea 4 with supporting material: The second and probably most
crucial step is preventing homosexual discrimination on the social level.
1. Sub point: Many of us use phrases like, thats so gay or why are you
acting so gay without even realizing what were saying. Using these
phrases as a negative comparison is the equivalent of saying, thats so
nerdy white boy or why are you acting so black. People cant
change the color of their skin any less than the gender they are attracted
to. So why do we feel the need to punish people for something they
cant control? And to those who say, Its a choice for them to be gay,
did you ever choose to start liking the opposite gender? No, of course
not, it just happened! As described in an article titled Bullying and
LGBT Youth, on Stopbullying.gov, we could even go as far as creating
Gay Straight Alliances (GAS) to create safer school environments.
(Internal summary): Overall, it would solve so many of our nations
problems if we could just learn to accept people for who they are.
(Transition) Imagine, if you will,
IV. Visualization
A. Main idea 5 with supporting material: a world where anyone can marry
whoever they want.
1. Sub point: For the longest time, two people of different races
could not marry each other, and before that, no one except
Caucasians could get married in America. Look how far weve
come since then, nearly everyone has the same legal, American
rights. All except for marriage of course. Just imagine how much
happier a large percent of the American population would be,
planning their weddings, buying gifts, eating that huge, delicious
cake. Dont we all deserve the right to experience this with the
person of our choosing?
B. Main idea 6 with supporting material: School environments would also
drastically improve.
1. Sub point: Wed have more friends to meet,
more Ibs to help us with that darn IB homework we stay up
all night for. Wed of course need more teachers then to
encompass all the new students, thus creating more jobs.
Suicide rates would no doubt decrease, creating more
happy families to enjoy the world with. More adults would
even feel accepted enough to venture out into the world and
spend money on useless things like all normal Americans
do.

(Internal summary): The United States would become an overall better place
to live if we accepted gay marriage.
(Transition to conclusion) In conclusion,
V. Action
A. Summarize and review taking action: while there are currently
seventeen states along with Washington D.C. that accept gay marriage,
the other thirty-three are fighting it tooth and nail. Same sex marriage
needs to be accepted across the country in order to ensure equal rights
for all. Supporting the cause or creating a more socially accepting
environment could easily solve these problems. We all need to either
find a way to make this dream a reality or stop with this illogical way
of thinking that makes homosexuality seem like the most evil crime on
the planet.
B. Tie to the introduction: Maybe one day, we can all finally achieve that
life goal so many of us dream of.
C. Concluding thought: Keep in mind, Im not telling you all to change
the way youve been thinking your whole life or discredit your parents.
All Im trying to do is spread a message, a goal that will make this
world a better place for us all.
References
1. Badgett, Lee, M.V. "The Economic Benefits of Gay Marriage." PBS. PBS, 29 Mar. 2013.
Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
2. "Bullying and LGBT Youth." Stopbullying.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
3. "Gay Bullying Statistics." - Bullying Statistics. N.p., 2013. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.