Nick Fortune

English 111

April 30th, 2012

Self-Assessment

I have learned a lot in the past few weeks of this English class. This is hands on type of class, and that seemed to make it a little bit harder than other previous classes I have attended. This also helped me in the long run to develop my writing, and composition skills. I have noticed them getting progressively better over the weeks of class. With each assignment I noticed my skills getting better, if I remembered to do the assignment or my computer corporates, and I find it easier to type and revise papers.

The class discussion helps out the most in my opinion. It helps us all put our ideas together, and really find the best meaning of an article or a paper. The class discussions also help us to find ideas that we couldnt have figured out ourselves. Some point of views we cant see ourselves, and we need input from other classmates or friends to see. We also need others inputs on our ideas if they are wrong or right, so we know if it is or not, and we can correct it or tell others about it. Without class discussion, I personally would not grow as much in my writing as I should be. This in turn also can increase your reading skills if you have to read over your partners papers, and their notes, and critiques. My reading skills have went up a little due to the fact I have to read two papers and review them. The peer reviews of our classmates help me find mistakes that I might even accidentally make on my very own papers. It will also increase your very own typing skills, and help you to increase your reading skills, and your vocabulary. There are a lot of things that can come out of

this. Reading the articles also introduced a few new things. I have never read any of the articles that we had to read for assignments in this class. I really enjoyed some of the articles that we were required to read for discussion board. I also did not like some of the articles we were required to read for discussion board. I found that I had learned a lot from these readings. Most have a valuable lesson that is found somewhere within the writings. They also have a lot of vocabulary words that I never had heard until I started reading those articles in the book. The direct instruction helps a lot to help cut some of the time that would be lost if we had to do it ourselves. If you directly instruct me on how to do something it will be a lot easier, and a lot faster than if I had to figure it out myself. It was very helpful, but I may not remember it all. The comments on my papers help me fix my mistakes, and stuff that I may have missed when I was writing a paper. Mistakes from simple misspellings, to incorrect grammar in my paper. It all helps me to become a better writer in the long run. I believe that my writing is a lot better now than it was when I first started the class. I notice my spelling getting more accurate, and my grammar skills, and paper construction skills becoming more in depth, and correct. I also learned that the way we write papers in high school isnt the only way you can write a paper. There are other ways to write a paper. More complicated, and may lose the reader if not done correctly, but you can write them differently. I did find that this class was very necessary to help my English skills, and to help me in all my other classes where I have a report to do. It is help in more than just English; it helps in every class, and everyday life. I am sure I have grown in my writing skills over the course of this class.

Nick Fortune Mrs. Jones English 111 April 24th, 2012 Should Gay Marriage Be Banned?

For a long time, people have always had different opinions on rather gay marriage should be banned or not. Some countries outlaw gay marriage, while others dont. A few places, including Canada, Sweden, Norway, Mexico, legalize gay marriage seeing that there was nothing wrong with being in love with the same sex. Most places in the U.S have a very different view on the situation. California use to allow gay marriage, but in late 2008 they passed something called Proposition 8, which means that only a marriage between a man and a woman will be valid in the state (Kathy Belge).

Some reasons why California has banned same sex marriage is because they said they had an inability to raise children if they had any, because diseases had started spreading rapidly, and because voters though it would just be for the best. In my own words I dont believe your sexual orientation restricts you from being able to take responsibility and care for a child. Diseases are going to be spread rather by gay people or straight. As for all the voters, no one knows what is best for someone else. I think that if you love someone, no one should have the right to tell you that you cant marry them (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samesex_marriage_in_California).

Aids are the number one STD that has been spread by same sex relationships. Aids are caused by HIV. HIV is known as human infection virus, which gradually attacks and weakens immune system cells. When your HIV has fully weakened your immune cells youre said to have aids. Aids makes it hard for people to gain and keep weight on, and they look sickly and kind of unappealing. Due to the fact that Aids is incurable, and most people are afraid that if someone is homosexual they more than likely have aids, that they are disgusting people and dont belong together. Herpes is also another disease, along with genital warts and syphilis that are rapidly spread by gays. Most people are more disgusted with these diseases than the couple being with each other (http://samesexcoupling.com/stdinfo.html).

A few quick facts about gay marriages are, many people believe that upholding a traditional marriage is not discrimination. My own voice, it is very discriminating. People compare people's love to a job. For example, you wouldnt let someone who is certified to fly an airplane in control of the plane, right? So why would you let a man and another one in a relationship because they dont, fit together. Homosexual marriage is not a civil rights issue (Timothy J. Dailey).

One thing that people get confused and worked up on is how this topic ties in with religion. Being gay is a sin in most religions. God did not make men and women to be with the same sex, but for the man and women for each other because they fit. Most religious people will say god does not like gay people, yet we are all one of his children and he made us all to be the way we are. God loves all of his children. Our actions, he may not like. But what gets to me about this is the fact people always bring up homosexuality like it is the only sin. If you want to make it an argument then do it right and dont just bring up what you feel like. God is clear about cutting off your hand if you sin with it (Matt 5:30), your feet if you sin with them ( Matt 18:8), your eye if you see with it ( Matt 18:9).I have yet to see a Christian walking around with one hand,foot,or eye due to sinning with it. We all sin and fall short in the glory of God. If a person curses their mother or father he or she shall be put to death. Plenty of kids are going around doing so, yet they are still allowed to live (V.9). If you have sex when a woman is on her period, both the man and the woman shall be cut off from other people. No one ever brings that stuff up; I wonder how many people would be among the swine then. You cant come before god if you have a flat nose (Lev 21:18), a broken hand, foot, or scurvy. If people are going to quote the bible, I appreciate it, but until people follow every single rule in every single chapter of Leviticus, they should not be able to pick out what suits them and try to call it Gods command. Unless you can tell me which parts of the Bible counts and which do not, then dont bring up isolated passages from the Old Testament, or the New for that matter and condemn any of Gods children with them. You cant take one Leviticus verse and leave the rest. Some of my own friends and family who happen to be gay are amazing Christians, wonderful parents, great kids, the best community members, and lovely people of sacred worth. And they are all beautiful Children of God.

This is one of the easiest things to argue over because everyone has their own opinion over this. Rather it is legal or not, do you honestly think it will stop homosexuals from trying to be with each other? Its like when someone is addicted to drugs. You can try to stop them, put them in rehab, yet half the time it never works. You can make a law saying that drugs are illegal, yet people still do them, and not get caught. If someone reads this and says, Well if you are relating drugs to being homosexual, you are saying it is wrong? Thats not where Im going with this. Im saying that even if there is a law, if you love something, which is basically like an addiction, youll do what you can to get it or be able to have it.

There are some famous people who are homosexual, yet people dont really have that big of a problem with them. Susan B. Anthony, Freddy Mercury, Joan Jett, Elton John, Pete Townsend, Little Richard, Melissa Ethridge, Adam Lambert, Dolce and Gabbana, Prince, Alexander the Great. All of these are inspirations to even straight people. To me it seems like people are being hypocrites, its ok for these people to be gay because why?

Some other arguments against gay marriage are religious freedom, rights of children, withering traditional marriage, education, and husbands according to NY Daily. Religious freedom, many people are against gay marriage, and some may soon be on the wrong side of the fence due to changing perspective of the world. Rights of children require some legal equality

for gay marriage. This simply means that you cannot favor heterosexual couples in any way. If you are caught doing so you can be severely punished by facing a lawsuit and you can be fired if caught. The only problem with this is that the child is denied the relationship of one biological parent, which in the long run can cause issues, physical, and emotional pain. Whither Traditional marriage? Some people believe that if gay marriage is accepted, it may increase the outlook of marriage, and help the outlook of gay marriage. But even some gay activists say they are working toward changing up the outlook of marriage. For instance most social gathering where men work without ties to a woman are truly dysfunctional. Education is another big topic of arguing against gay marriage. It is possible that gay marriage can have an effect on heterosexual marriage. In schools they are changing the curriculums to support alternative sexual lifestyles in California. Even in Massachusetts a judge there ruled that schools have a role to teach the students that there is moral equality between heterosexual relationships, and homosexual relationships. With this being done, parents have no way to opt their children out of the institutions. The gender role is no longer an essential part of a marriage. It is becoming more of a sexual preference and not solely about reproduction any more. This means that there might be a slight decline in the human population if a lot of people marry for sexual preference instead of reproduction (Seth Forman).

Still theyre more ways that it is wrong to deny gay marriage. Such as denying them is a violation of their first amendment. The first amendment of the constitution states that a person's religious ties are protected, and government cannot just make up laws against it. Marriage benefits should be an option for all couples instead of just heterosexual couples. Marriage is so

much more than just a legal understanding. Being married affects many different things such as your income, your medical benefits, and medical decisions (Joe Messerh).

It affects your tax filing status, join ownership of property, even your insurance benefits, and agency law. Did you know that in a gay couple, if one of the members gets sick, even though they have been together for twenty years or more, they still may be denied visitation at the hospital because they are not technically a spouse or immediate family member. Nowadays, with most people, homosexuality is accepted with supported biological information from a doctor. Many people believe that homosexuality is a form of a defiant evil sexual behavior. Hormones and genetics make up a lot of this area of homosexuality (Joe Messerh).

You may notice that a gay male has softer features, and a soft voice, while a lesbian female may have very strong cheekbones, and a very manly figure, and deeper voice. Not everyone wanted to be the way they are but it just happened that way, not everyone wanted to be subjected to criticism, and rejection by everyone because of they like the same sex. But it is becoming more accepted slowly, with the help of medical researching, and tests, and doctors who study genetics. Denying gay couples marriage is a type of minority discrimination. The United States was formed on a idea that the majority rules, but the ideals and rights of the minority should be protected also (Joe Messerh).

Denying gay couples the right and ability to marry is like denying a Hispanic couple and Caucasian couple the right to marry. Some people believe that if you deny gays marriage it will not hurt society or anyone in particular. A marriage is a relationship between two people. It isnt

right for the government to say what people can and can't do when no one else is involved but them. The only thing that should matter is that they love each other when it comes to marriage. Homosexual people dont just get married to establish legal justice or for tax purposes, but instead they marry because they love each other and want to be together. It doesnt matter what society thinks about gay marriage, its about the person being happy with who they choose to be with (Joe Messerh).

Being gay or bisexual is a good thing because more orphan children get adopted and get to live in a good home where they can be loved. Because gay people cant have children together, they often want to adopt and some will adopt more than one child. So that way children will be able to live in a loving environment with people who will love them as if they were their own children. Some say gay marriage would erode family values. This, however, is not true. The problem with STDs today is not just from gay people but from carefree people who have unprotected sex with multiple people (Joe Messerh).

It often takes the income of two people in order to live. Married couples split the rental payments, utility bills, and many other things that would be impossible for just one person. Its especially hard if one of the people working is a child or a teenager. Its really hard for a gay person to get a job because many people discriminate against the gay community. Therefore, household responsibilities are tough for gay people (Joe Messerh). Every religion in the United States isnt accepting of gay or bisexual people. Some say it is offensive and consider it a sin. People believe laws allowing gay people to marry would cause ridicule of marriages that are not very serious. Critics say marriage is the joining of man and

woman not man and man or woman and woman. It only makes sense for a man to join with a woman not with the same sex (Joe Messerh). The stronghold of our nation is a man and a woman couple with children of their own. Even though friends and loved ones may come they are always there. The main reason why everything is so bad is because relationships break and dont stay together. They may always fight and argue and will often get a divorce. Gay people often leave each other because they are tired of all the criticism they have to go through and will often leave their partner so the torture will end (Joe Messerh). Gay rights activists believe gay marriage should be allowed because it doesnt hurt anyone but the gay couples getting married. But it could destroy the whole idea of marriage in general. What if somebody would want to marry a blow-up doll or even have more than one wife? If somebody wants to marry an animal why will they not be able to? What about marrying a relative? The options are never ending. It doesnt matter how many people disagree with the situation but it matters what one judge decides to say. If he or she believes something should be a certain way they can make it happen because of their power as judges (Joe Messerh).

Children often get confused about having gay parents. They learn about different genders and ethics as they progress in their lives. They will often wonder why other children around them have a mom and a dad and their parents are the same sex. Children may start to feel unwanted because they are not biological to their parents because they are different. They may also feel alone because other children may make fun of them for having gay parents (Joe Messerh).

Personally, I believe if a couple of the same sex wants to be with each other and get married then it should be allowed. They have as much right to be together as a regular couple would. It is a very good thing because many children all over the world without a family will get to have one because since gay couples cannot have children normally they will adopt a deserving child. They deserve to be treated like a normal human being. After all, they are just like you and me.

Works Cited Page "Five Arguments against Gay Marriage: Society Must Brace for Corrosive Change." New York Daily News. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-0623/news/29710731_1_gay-marriage-traditional-marriage-gay-advocates/2>. "Should Same-Sex Marriages Be Legalized?" BalancedPolitics.org. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.balancedpolitics.org/same_sex_marriages.htm>. "Where Can Gays Legally Marry?" About.com Lesbian Life. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/wedding/a/wheremarriage.htm>. Ten Facts About Same Sex Marriage." Facts About Same Sex Marriage. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.truenews.org/Homosexuality/facts_about_same_sex_marriage.html>.

Should gay marriage be banned?

For a long time, people have always had different opinions on rather gay marriage should be banned or not. Some Countries outlaw gay marriage, while others dont. A few places, including Canada,Sweden, Norway,Mexico, legalize gay marriage seeing that there was nothing wrong with being in love with the same sex. Most places in the U.S have a very different view on the situation. California use to allow gay marriage, but in late 2008 they passed something called Proposition 8, which means that only a marriage between a man and a woman will be valid in the state (Kathy Belge).

Some reasons why California has banned same sex marriage is because they said they had an enability to raise children if they had any, because diseases had started spreading rapidly, and because voters though it would just be for the best. In my own words I dont believe your sexual orientation restricts you from being able to take responsibility and care for a child. Diseases are going to be spread rather by gay people or straight. As for all the voters, no one knows what is best for someone else. I think that if you love someone, no one should have the right to tell you that you cant marry them ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samesex_marriage_in_California ).

Aids is the number one STD that has been spread by same sex relationships.

Due to the fact that Aids is incurable, and most people are afraid that if someone is homosexual they more than likely have aids, that they are disgusting people and dont belong together. Herpes is also another disease, along with genitail warts and syphilis that are rapidly spread by gays. Most people are more disgusted with these diseases than the couple being with each other ( http://samesexcoupling.com/stdinfo.html ).

A few quick facts about gay marriages are, Many people believe that upholding a traditional marriage is not discrimination. My own voice, it is very discriminating. People compare people's love to a job. For example, You wouldnt let someone who is certified to fly an airplane in control of the plane, right? So why would you let a man and another one in a relationship because they dont ,fit together. Homosexual marriage is not a civil rights issues( Timothy J. Dailey ).

One thing that people get confused and worked up on is how this topic ties in with religion. Being gay is a sin in most religions. God did not make men and women to be with the same sex, but for the man and women for each other because they fit. Most religious people will say god does not like gay people, yet we are all one of his children and he made us all to be the way we are. God loves all of his children. Our actions, he may not like. But what gets to me about this is the fact people always bring up homosexuality like it is the only sin. If you want to make it an argument then do it right and dont just bring up what you feel like. God is clear about

cutting off your hand if you sin with it (Matt 5:30), your feet if you sin with them ( Matt 18:8), your eye if you seen with it ( Matt 18:9).I have yet to see a christian walking around with one hand,foot,or eye due to sinning with it. We all sin and fall short in the glory of God. If a person curses their mother or father he or she shall be put to death. Plenty of kids are going around doing so, yet they are still allowed to live (V.9). If you have sex when a woman is on her period, both the man and the woman shall be cut off from other people. No one ever brings that stuff up, I wonder how many people would be among the swine then. You cant come before god if you have a flat nose ( Lev 21:18 ), a broken hand, foot, or scurvy. If people are going to quote the bible, I appreciate it, but until people follow every single rule in every single chapter of Levitucus, they should not be able to pick out what suits them and try to call it Gods command.Unless you can tell me which parts of the Bible counts and which do not,then dont bring up isolated passages from the Old Testament, or the New for that matter and Condemn any of Gods children with them. You cant take one Levitucus verse and leave the rest. Some of my own friends and family who happen to be gay are amazing christians, wonderful parents, great kids,the best community members, and lovely people of sacred worth. And they are all beautiful Children of God.

This is one of the easiest thing to argue over because everyone has their own opinion over this. Rather it is legal or not, do you honestly think it will stop homosexuals from trying to be with each other? Its like when someone is addicted to drugs. You can try to stop them, put them in rehab, yet half the time it never works. You can make a law saying that drugs are illegal, yet people still do them, and not get caught. If someone reads this and says, Well if you are relating drugs to being homosexual, you are saying it is wrong? Thats not where im going with this.

Im saying that even if there is a law, if you love something, which is basically like an addiction, youll do what you can to get it or be able to have it.

There are some famous people who are homosexual, yet people dont really have that big of a problem with them. Susan B. Anthony, Freddy Mercury,Joan Jett,Elton John,Pete Townsend, Little Richard,Melissa Ethridge,Adam Lambert,Dolce and Gabbana, Prince, Alexander The Great. All of these who are inspirations to even straight people. To me it seems like people are being hypocrites, its ok for these people to be gay because why?

Some other arguments against gay marriage are religious freedom, rights of children, withering traditional marriage, education, and husbands according to NY Daily. Religious freedom, many people are against gay marriage, and some may soon be on the wrong side of the fence due to changing perspective of the world. Rights of children requires some legal equality for gay marriage. This simply means that you can not favor heterosexual couples in any way. If you are caught doing so you can be severly punished by facing a lawsuit, and even fired if caught. The only problem with this is that the child is denied the relationship of one biological parent, which in the long run can cause issues, physical, and emotional pain. Whither Traditional marriage? Some people believe that if gay marriage is accepted, it may increase the outlook of marriage, and help the outlook of gay marriage. But even some gay activists say they are working toward changing up the outlook of marriage. For instance most social gathering where men work without ties to a woman are truly dysfunctional. Education is another big topic of arguing against gay marriage. It is possible that gay marriage can have an effect on heterosexual marriage. In schools though they are changing the curriculums to support

alternative sexual lifestyles in California. Even in Massachusetts a judge there ruled that schools have a role to teach the students that there is moral equality between heterosexual relationships, and homosexual relationships. With this being done, parents have no way to opt their children out of the institutions. The gender role is no longer an essential part of a marriage. It is becoming more of a sexual preference, and not solely about reproduction any more. Which means that there might be a slight decline in the human population if a lot of people marry for sexual preference instead of reproduction (Seth Forman).

Still theyre more ways that it is wrong to deny gay marriage. Such as denying them is a violation of their first amendment. The first amendment of the constitution states that a person's religious ties are protected, and government cannot just make up laws against it. Marriage benefits should be an option for all couples instead of just heterosexual couples. Marriage is so much more than just a legal understanding. Being married affects many different things such as your income, your medical benefits, and medical decisions (Joe Messerh).

It affects your tax filing status, join ownership of property, even your insurance benefits, and agency law. Did you know that in a gay couple, if one of the members gets sick, even though they have been together for twenty years or more, they still may be denied visitation at the hospital because they are not technically a spouse or immediate family member. Nowadays, with most people, homosexuality is accepted with supported biological information from a doctor. Many people believe that homosexuality is a form of a defiant evil sexual behavior. Hormones, and genetics make up a lot of this area of homosexuality (Joe Messerh).

You may notice that a gay male has softer features, and a soft voice, while a lesbian female may have very strong cheekbones, and a very manly figure, and deeper voice. Not everyone wanted to be the way they are but it just happened that way, not everyone wanted to be subjected to criticism, and rejection by everyone because of they like the same sex. But it is becoming more accepted slowly, with the help of medical researching, and tests, and doctors who study genetics. Denying gay couples marriage is a type of minority discrimination. The United States was formed on a idea that the majority rules, but the ideals and rights of the minority should be protected also (Joe Messerh).

Denying gay couples the right and ability to marry is like denying a hispanic couple and caucasian couple the right to marry. Some people believe that if you deny gays marriage it will not hurt society, or anyone in particular. A marriage is a relationship between two people. It isnt right for the government to say what people can and can't do when no one else is involved but them. The only thing that should matter is that they love each other when it comes to marriage. Homosexual people dont just get married to establish legal justice or for tax purposes, but instead they marry because they love each other and want to be together. It doesnt matter what society thinks about gay marriage, its about the person being happy with who they choose to be with (Joe Messerh).

Being gay or bisexual is a good thing because more orphan children get adopted and get to live in a good home where they can be loved. Because gay people cant have children

together, they often want to adopt and some will adopt more than one child. So that way children will be able to live in a loving environment with people who will love them as if they were their own children. Some say gay marriage would erode family values. This, however, is not true. The problem with STDs today is not just from gay people but from carefree people who have unprotected sex with multiple people (Joe Messerh).

It often takes the income of two people in order to live. Married couples split the rental payments, utility bills, and many other things that would be impossible for just one person. Its especially hard if one of the people working is a child or a teenager. Its really hard for a gay person to get a job because many people discriminate against the gay community. Therefore, household responsibilities are tough for gay people (Joe Messerh).

Every religion in the United States arent accepting of gay or bisexual people. Some say it is offensive and consider it a sin. People believe laws allowing gay people to marry would cause ridicule of marriages that are not very serious. Critics say marriage is the joining of man and woman not man and man or woman and woman. It only makes sense for a man to join with a woman not with the same sex (Joe Messerh).

The stronghold of our nation is a man and a woman couple with children of their own. Even though friends and loved ones may come they are always there. The main reason why everything is so bad is because relationships break and dont stay together. They may always fight and argue and will often get a divorce. Gay people often leave each other because they are

tired of all the criticism they have to go through and will often leave their partner so the torture will end (Joe Messerh).

Gay rights activists believe gay marriage should be allowed because it doesnt hurt anyone but the gay couples getting married. But it could destroy the whole idea of marriage in general. What if somebody would want to marry a blow-up doll or even have more than one wife? If somebody wants to marry an animal why will they not be able to? What about marrying a relative? The options are never ending. It doesnt matter how many people disagree with the situation but it matters what one judge decides to say. If he or she believes something should be a certain way they can make it happen because of their power as judges (Joe Messerh).

Children often get confused about having gay parents. They learn about different genders and ethics as they progress in their lives. They will often why other children around them have a mom and a dad and their parents are the same sex. Children may start to feel unwanted because they are not biological to their parents because they are different. They may also feel alone because other children may make fun of them for having gay parents (Joe Messerh).

Personally, I believe if a couple of the same sex wants to be with each other and get married then it should be allowed. They have as much right to be together as a regular couple would. It is a very good thing because many children all over the world without a family will get to have one because since gay couples cannot have children normally they will adopt a deserving

child. They deserve to be treated like a normal human being. After all, they are just like you and me.

Best and Weakest

My best essay would have to be the researched argument essay. I found it easier to summarize what other people had talked about, and cite them than just making up my own four page essay. It was rather easy to change words around, and make them mine. It is easy to find a lot of information on argumentative topics.

My worst essay was my first essay. Literacy narrative was too narrow for me to type a full length paper on it and stay on track. I was off subject a lot and didnt seem to get my point across. I was typing on another subject a lot that was not too far off but not close enough for a literacy narrative.