Amy By Stephen Coontz Analysis

Hyde v Hyde 1866 defined the term marriage as: “The voluntary union of one man and one woman at the exclusion of all others for life”. This definition is built of the back of a very morally religious country, and in fact prior to the definition it uses the words “in christendom” . The basis of this concept can be traced right back to the creation of religion with the creation of Adam and Eve as Husband and Wife in the bible . This position has stood the test of time and is still to some extent true in today’s society. However the Legislature and Judiciary have over the last forty to fifty years appeared to severely weaken the position and in some instances have gone as far as saying Hyde is no longer relevant .

Traditional wedding vows state, “I, (name), take you (name), to be my (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part”(Callaway). Marriage is defined as two people bond together legally under the protection of laws. Couples are able to express and establish their life long relationships officially, publicly, and permanently. Due to the fact that homosexual relationships are increasingly more accepted by the public, gay marriage has become one of the most controversial topics throughout the US. The fundamental human right of marriage should not be limited to a man and a woman;

We define marriage as either a.) “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law” or b.) “the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage” (Merriam-Webster). Although, until June 26th, 2013, federal law did not recognize the latter definition until Edith Windsor, surviving wife of Thea Spyer who left her entire estate to Windsor sued for spousal rights. Due to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which states the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife (United States Congress)”, when Spyer passed and left her entire estate to her wife (who she married in Toronto, Canada in 2007, in which same-sex marriage was legalized since June 2003) Windsor was unable to claim spousal exemption on the estate tax, which their legal marriage said she deserved.

Marriage is between a man and a woman. Or, at least, that is how The Defense of Marriage Act defines it. The act, passed in 1996, attempted to offer closure to Americans who wondered how to define marriage in the United States. American advocates for gay rights date back to the early 20th century, but true advancements in equality haven’t been made until the past ten years. Opponents of the act have argued that the decision breeds inequality and discrimination in a country that was founded to avoid the two. The opponents undoubtedly rejoiced on June 26, 2013 as the Supreme Court ruled that the wording used in section three of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. Section three of the act stated that marriage was “between one man and one woman” (Gaynor and Blesset, 2). The Defense of Marriage Act is under constant scrutiny and may be completely repealed due to increased awareness of human rights among Americans, a drastic change in American public opinion, and politicians facing loss of constituent support if they do not support gay rights and the associated legislation.

Marriage has been defined differently throughout the centuries. Today Merriam-Webster defines marriage as, “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law” (“Marriage”). Due to the recent Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and Transsexual or LGBT movement, Merriam-Webster also added a second line to the definition reading “The state of being

That definition was most recently updated in 2004 by the combined efforts of Federal Parliament and Senate, and amended to include from ‘certain unions’ onward. Article 16 was written in 1949 on the other hand, and has admittedly seen some development over the years, but even in its original form did not expressly exclude signatories from legislating to allow for marriage equality.

Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia. She had a job as a social worker, teacher, lecturer and she also wrote: “Elethia” which was written on 1981 which means she wrote “Elethia” when she was about 37 year of age. The story Elethia is about the afterlife of Uncle Albert from her view. “Elethia” is a pleasant young girl who works at a restaurant which was owned by the man that had an ancestor who was slave owners of a big plantation in a town. At this restaurant slavery still existed in some ways even after the law was passed, which the commandment ended the slavery, but it still existed in lots of our communities. However, the scatter of slavery was still in the community because of the presence of slave owners who has experience slavery in different ways. The slavery was so essential for them that Uncle Albert was stuffed as a worker and has been made the attraction for the people in the community to view in the restaurant. Even though the restaurant was named after him, the racism and slavery have still been an unchanging fact for American word.

The story begins with amy and her parents being frozen.Amy’s mom goes first so amy can see how it works. Her dad goes next but before he goes he tells Amy that she doesn’t have to and lets her make the choice. Amy decides to be frozen and when she is frozen she remains conscious. We flash forward two hundred and fifty years in the future on the God-Speed where we get Elder’s point of view. We will flash between Amy and Elder’s point of views throughout the story. Amy is suddenly woken up by an unkown person. She almost dies but is saved by Elder.

To start, the definition of marriage (according to dictionary.com) is the state, condition, or relationship of being married; wedlock. No where in that definition does it say between a man and a woman. Times have changed over the decades. Some would say that change is not always a positive change in the world; some would say some changes may have had a negative effect on our society. For example, some people who have become president in different countries have brought destruction and chaos to it, but not all change is negative. Remember when women could not vote, when they were forced to feel as if their place was the home. How about when African Americans had no place at all in our society except as slaves? When women became pregnant, and they were not married, they had to be sent away for an abortion or till they gave birth, never to really have respect again. When countries that were once our enemies are now our allies. We never would have thought that all these issues would

It is rooted in our traditional Western values that marriage is intended to be between man and woman. The dictionary defines it as the social institution under which a male and female establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments and religious ceremonies.1 I do not believe marriage should have an alternate definition. President George W. Bush once addressed our nation stating:

One of the leading political debates in our country today is the legalization of same-sex marriages. The very image of marriage is evolving on an on-going basis due to society and the major changes between society defined unions. The definition of marriage, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, states “Marriage, n., (1) the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage <same-sex marriage>.” The change was not made until 2003. Marriage, as per society, is a special event in

According to Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of marriage is “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law” (“Marriage” def. 1), but is that all there is to it? A marriage should be based upon compassion, trust, acceptance, and most importantly, love; marriage has nothing to do with your gender, so why portray it to be? Marriage equality or having only opposite sex in order to have a happy and successful life has been a controversial issue in America for the last twenty years. Now, one state at a time, America is finally coming around to realize that everyone deserves love, regardless their sexual orientation.

Marriage is defined as the legal union of a couple as spouses. The elements of marriage include: (1) the parties legal ability to marry each other, (2) mutual consent of the parties and (3) a marriage contract as required by law. (Legal Information Institute, 2014, n.d.). In the United States, marriage law is regulated by the individual state. Standards such as age, residency, relation, mental capacity, and gender are requirements regulated on a state-by-state basis. Until recent changes, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defined marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” (1 U.S.C. § 7). President Clinton established DOMA in 1996 as a definition for marriage for federal law purposes. With gay rights on the forefront of many conversations and headlines in the recent years, there is a large push for change in the laws that apply to marriage. I personally believe that all people should have the right to marry regardless of sexual orientation, and I think as a country we are heading in the right direction for that to happen.

“We're a pair-bonding species, and we have a deep need at the species level to love and be loved by another and a need to pass on a part of ourselves to the next generation” (Masci 1). As long as humans have lived, they have paired up in order to reproduce. It has been the way of life even before government or religion. Should the natural order of a species be changed? That is the question circulating the United States. Gay marriage will have an effect on the country, and the people need to decide whether it will be a positive or negative outcome. “When you talk about redefining marriage, you're really talking about an overthrow of this natural order or natural law, because marriage is something that predates government. So this is a big deal, a once-in-a-lifetime debate about whether to overturn the natural order upon which our rights are based” (Masci 1). The societal risks of legalizing gay marriage far outweigh the benefits.

Marriage has evolved over time. Once, far back in history, when states were run in close cooperation with religious leaders, a marriage was strictly the dominion of the church, and the only definition was much like the one above (though they were more lax in avoiding incest than I would suspect Schulman’s proposed structure would be). In the eyes, there had to be a system where sex would be legitimized, while women and children were protected from it and its consequences. This made sense when repeated sex acts would almost definitely cause pregnancy, and possibly spread disease. As religion and government split into different organizations, each retained a definition of marriage that was a bit different from the other. Since religion held sway over what was considered pure and good, it took it upon itself to retain the parts of the old structure that dealt with the morality and social responsibility of marriage, and this is generally considered to be a social structure of marriage. And now, the social form of marriage is migrating into being controlled by the couple who are being married instead of their church. The government, on the other hand, became able to define who would be able to marry and place official benefits and restrictions on a married couple, creating a legal structure of marriage that was not the same as the social one. While