Homosexuality is a controversial topic in many circles. There are those who consider themselves against homosexuality. This dislike or even hatred towards gays is known as homophobia. Homophobia comes in many levels, from stereotyping the gay community to thinking that gay people are evil. These various instances of homophobia result in stereotyping, bans on gay marriage and adoption, hate crimes and bullying, all of which are very harmful to the gay community as a whole. Minorities have stereotypes that are widely believed, regardless of the actual validity of the thought. “The majority culture's attachment to stereotypes about gay men and women constitutes the main obstacle to the civil rights of gays and lesbians.” (Nava, There are many reasons why this ban is harmful. Some harms are emotional. As Judge Sarah Zabel stated, “[Florida's ban on gay marriage] only serves to hurt, discriminate against, disenfranchise same-sex couples, and their families of equal dignity, label them and treat them as second-class citizens and deem them unworthy of participating in one of the fundamental institutions of our society” (Gay Marriage ProCon.org The emotional damage of not having a gay marriage includes feeling different from others couples. Many people dream of being able to celebrate a "white wedding" with their entire family and that their love is formally recognized and accepted by all. Without same-sex marriage, this is not legally possible Gay couples will find it much more difficult to adopt children; and if they do so but are not legally married, then the child will legally be considered just one of theirs. Within the school, children of same-sex couples will know that their family is considered different because they (the parents) are not married. This also makes it more likely that other children will make fun of them because they are able to understand how they are regarded. This is because without marriage there are some legal advantages that couples cannot obtain. Without a legal marriage, no matter how long the couple has been together, they still do not have the same legal benefits that a heterosexual married couple enjoys. This includes “hospital visits during an illness, the ability to file a joint tax return to reduce your tax burden, access to family health coverage, residency in the United States, and family reunification for partners from another country, bereavement leave and inheritance rights in the event of the death of a partner”. " (Gay Marriage ProCon.org). All of these are taken for granted by married heterosexual couples. Filing a joint tax return, accessing family health coverage, and inheritance rights from a deceased partner are all important economic reasons for which is important to have a legal gay marriage. Without these, couples will lose money because they are treated as individuals instead of getting the breaks that couples get. The issue of not having hospital visits during an illness, bereavement leave and inheritance rights would be Very traumatizing and painful for the couple. Not having visitors during an illness means the partner could die in hospital without the other being there, no matter how long they have been together. Lack of inheritance rights means the partner could leave everything to 'other partner, but the family could reject it and contest the will