my mediocre 9th grade ssm research paper

Same-sex Marriage

Same-sex marriage is one of the most controversial subjects today in American and worldwide politics. Until the early 2000s, same-sex marriage was not legal anywhere worldwide. The majority of society has usually viewed marriage as only a union between a man and a woman. But, opinions revolutionize, and more than a handful of countries throughout Europe, North and South America, and even Africa ??? the least educated and developed region of the world have legalized same-sex marriage. Of course, same-sex marriage is still not legal in most countries throughout the world, and being homosexual is still illegal in countries throughout Africa and Asia. Punishments can be as severe as the death penalty to lengthy prison sentences. People should not be punished or be treated unfairly for just being who they are??? gays and lesbians should receive the same marital and legal benefits as heterosexual couples.

Gays and lesbians, who are just like everyone else besides their sexual orientation, still get treated like dirt and are denied basic rights from governments worldwide. Writer Andrew Sullivan, who is gay, describes finding out you are gay in today???s time as ???You will be treated differently by everyone, from your family to your friends and even stretching as far as to people that don???t even know you??? (Sullivan). ???I didn???t go to parties, learn how to drive, and lost friends??? (Sullivan) he later said. This subject sadly brings up the Civil Rights movement during the mid-20th century: a specific group of different people get treated like crap just because they are different by something as stupid as skin color. But look where the United States is now, with the Civil Rights bill passed decades ago, blacks are treated like ordinary people just like they should have been from the beginning and it should be the same way for gays and lesbians. But now the United States faces a new problem in a new generation: the fight for everyone to have the same marital rights and other basic rights that gays are flat out denied. People fight every day in the streets of different countries begging for their rights ??? something that they should be guaranteed anyways.

But every day, progress is being made in the United States and worldwide. Today, in the United States, eights states have legalized same-sex marriage ??? most in the Northeast region of country which is known for its liberal politics including - New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and the country???s capital ??? Washington D.C., and other states on the West coast, also known for its liberal politics like Washington state. There has also been other breaks for same-sex equality, ???[t]he New Mexico Human Rights Commission fined a wedding photographer who refused on religious grounds to work a ceremony for two women and New York???s Supreme Court ordered Yeshiva University to let same-sex couples into its married-student housing??? (Olson). ???On the other hand, more than two dozen states have voter-approved amendments that bar same-sex marriage and voters in Minnesota and North Carolina will vote on the issue this year.??? (Tate) Same-sex marriage has dominated politics worldwide and is a heated subject today in the United States. Just in these past few months, California???s Proposition 8 was deemed unconstitutional, New Jersey???s governor, a Republican, vetoed a same-sex marriage bill, plus Washington state and Maryland legalized same-sex marriage. It is also making progress worldwide every year with more and more countries debating about it and legalizing it every year. Also, the United Kingdom and France are promising to have same-sex marriage legal in the next couple of years even though both countries have conservative governments in control ??? which goes to show that politics does not need to be included in this. Also, ???[t]o help pass the same-sex marriage bill in New York, four Republicans voted for the bill, and the Republican majority leader allowed the vote which the led for bipartisan support of passing the bill??? (Gallagher) further shows this.

But, instead of having politicians bicker over this social issue endlessly, we need to legalize it universally. We sit here every day wasting time watching states and countries fight over it ??? and it???s all just a waste of time. Trying to make sense of why people are against same-sex marriage is difficult, especially when oppositionists like Rod Dreher state ???[S]ame-sex marriage almost certainly would bring about serious restrictions on freedom of speech and association, particularly for churches and religious organizations??? (Dreher), and try to bring religion into the argument. Religion does not belong in politics. Politicians are here to serve the people, not themselves. They are here to vote for what is right for the country, not something that would keep us divided. Numerous polls have showed support for same-sex marriage in the U.S. and worldwide is growing, and just in these past two years, for the first time ever, there was more same-sex marriage supporters then there was people against it in the United States. And polls since then have kept following the trend showing us that people are becoming more educated on the issue. Other arguments, such as ???same-sex marriage is wrong???, or ???that it is not time for it??? are outdated. People against same-sex marriage are closed minded and greedy. Up to this day, there has not been one good argument against same-sex marriage and people against it can never provide one. There are plenty of valid arguments for same-sex marriage from people that are for it.

In today???s modern time, you would think that everyone by now would be treated fairly ??? especially in developed countries but we still sadly face this issue. Bottom line: stop wasting everyone???s time on this issue, legalize it, and actually work on the real issues that are important ??? like the economy.

more music for you [updated]

more music for you!!
want more songs? here's the other list: http://www.marapets.com/blogs.php?entry=356388
(there's probably going to be some duplicates)
enjoy!!

Bastille - Pompeii (alt)
Lumineers - Ho Hey (pop)
Zedd / Foxes - Clarity (elect)
Kesha - Die Young (pop)
Capital Cities - Safe and Sound (alt)
Icona Pop - We Got the World (elect)
Calvin Harris - Sweet Nothing (elect)
Icona Pop - I Love It (elect)
Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie (pop)
Last Dinosaurs - Time & Place (alt)
Grouplove - Tongue Tied (alt)
Atlas Genius - Trojans (alt)
Macklemore / Ryan Lewis - Same Love (rap)
Jessie J - Domino (pop)
Passion Pit - Take a Walk (alt)
Arkells - On Paper (alt)
Afrojack / Shermanology - Can't Stop Me (elect)
MGMT - Electric Feel (alt)
Walk the Moon - Tightrope (alt)
Walk the Moon - Anna Sun (alt)
Rihanna - Stay (pop)
Macklemore / Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop (rap)
Wiz Khalifa - No Sleep (rap)
Flo Rida - Whistle (pop)
Mariah Carey - Beautiful (pop)
Fitz & the Tantrums - Out of My League (alt)
Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait (alt)
Snow Patrol - Just Say Yes (alt)
Pink - Blow Me (pop)
Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais - Summertime Sadness (elect)
Ariana Grande - The Way (rap)
Paramore - Still Into You (alt)
The Wanted - Glad You Came (pop)
Calvin Harris - I Need Your Love (elect)
Phillip Phillips - Gone, Gone, Gone (pop)
Imagine Dragons - Radioactive (alt)
Krewella - Alive (elect)
Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop (pop)
Taylor Swift - 22 (pop)
Ready Set - Give Me Your Hand (pop)
Bruno Mars - Treasure (pop)
Ed Sheeran - Lego House (pop)
Macklemore / Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (rap)
Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (alt)
Maroon 5 - Love Somebody (pop)
Kings of Leon - Use Somebody (alt)
Justin Timberlake - Mirrors (pop)
Jason Derulo - The Other Side (pop)
twenty one pilots - Holding Onto You (rock)
All-American Rejects - Gives You Hell (alt)
Blacked Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough (pop)
Avicii - Wake Me Up (elect)
Imagine Dragons - Demons (alt)
David Guetta / Flo Rida - Where Them Girls At (pop)
Florida Georgia Line - Dayum, Baby (pop)
Snow Patrol - In the End (alt)
Taio Cruz - Dynamite (pop)
Limousines - Internet Killed the Video Star (alt)
Crystals Castles - Not In Love (elect)
All-American Rejects - Move Along (alt)
Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger (pop)
V.V. Brown - Shark in the Water (pop)
Gavin DeGraw - Not Over You (pop)
Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (pop)
Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On (rap)
MGMT - Kids (alt)
Linkin Park - Bleed It Out (rock)
Afrojack - Take Over Control (elect)
La Roux - Bulletproof (elect)
Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man (alt)
The Script - For the First Time (pop)
Matchbox Twenty - Put Your Hands Up (alt)
Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight (alt)
Cobra Starship - Good Girls Go Bad (alt)
Cobra Starship - #1 Night (One Night) (alt)
B.o.B / Taylor Swift - Both of Us (rap)
Eminem / Bruno Mars - Lighters (rap)
Bonnie McKee - American Girl (pop)
Martin Solveig / Kyle - Hey Now (elect)
Calvin Harris - Drinking From the Bottle (elect)
Outasight - Tonight Is the Night (pop)
Florence + the Machine - Shake It Out (alt)
Arkells - Book Club (alt)
Krewella - Live for the Night (elect)
Stars - Backlines (alt)
Justin Bieber - Beauty and a Beat (pop)
Snow Patrol - Called Out In the Dark (alt)
Phoenix - Entertainment (alt)
Rihanna - Diamonds (pop)
OneRepublic - If I Lose Myself (alt)
The Fray - You Found Me (alt)
Saving Jane - Girl Next Door (alt)
Britt Nicole - Gold (pop)
Alicia Keys - Girl on Fire (pop)
Demi Levato - Heart Attack (pop)
The Script - Hall of Fame (pop)
Flo Rida - I Cry (pop)
Rita Ora - How We Do (Party) (pop)
Imagine Dragons - It's Time (alt)
We Are the In Crowd - Kiss Me Again (alt)
Geographer - Lover's Game (alt)
Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven (pop)
Phoenix - Lisztomania (alt)
The Killers - Read My Mind (alt)
Martin Solveig - The Night Out (elect)
Chris Wallace - Remember When (pop)
Nelly - Hey Porsche (pop)
Jack's Mannequin - The Mixed Tape (alt)
Taking Back Sunday - Make Damn Sure (rock)
Zedd - Spectrum (elect)
Florence + the Machine - Dog Days Are Over (alt)
Passion Pit - Carried Away (alt)
J Cole - Workout (rap)
Youngblood Hawke - We Come Running (alt)
Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know (alt)
Olly Murs - Troublemaker (pop)
Outasight - Now or Never (pop)
Youngblood Hawke - Stars (Hold On) (alt)
Grouplove - Way to Go (alt/pop)
Winter Gloves - Let Me Drive (alt)
Ellie Goulding - Midas Touch (pop)