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Issue Presented Should the state recognize same-sex marriage? Short Answer The state should allow same-sex marriage. Discussion According to the dictionary, marriage is defined as the legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife. This legal union is a guarantee by the state that married couples have certain rights and benefits. First, there are tax benefits where married couples are able to file joint tax returns and divide business income among the family members. Next, there are certain Government benefits such as being able to receive Social Security, Medicare, and other disability benefits for spouses. Legally recognized spouses are also able to receive many benefits from employers such as obtaining insurance through one of the spouse’s employers or being able to take leave from work to take care of spouses during an illness. There are also many medical rights such as being able to visit a spouse after visitation hours in the hospital or being able to make critical medical decisions for each other if one is incapacitated. Besides these few examples, there are also many other benefits in these categories; death, family, housing, consumer, and legal. With all this said, having a legally recognized union is very