Gay Marriage Equality

Historically defined as the union between a man and women the idea of marriage has been socially ingrained into the minds of Americans leaving any other possibilities of who love can happen between as unacceptable. These strong societal beliefs are far from the truth yet dictate the ability of homosexuals rights to marry one another. Avoiding defining what marriage entails in the constitution, the issue of whether or not gay people have the right to marry has become a state issue. The conservative idea of marriage is changing as society is undergoing a transformation in its beliefs to a more liberal stance. As a country that has progressed towards being more egalitarian and inclusive in ensuring individuals rights, the right of marriage

The concept of gay or same sex marriage is controversial. There are a number of countries where homosexual couples are allowed to marry with their relationship gaining the same recognition as heterosexual couples; countries who allow gay marriage include Sweden, Spain, Canada, Iceland and Argentina. In the US nine states, plus Washington DC provide for gay marriages (FTM, 2012). It would appear that there is a gradual movement towards acceptance of gay marriage, but with only a minatory of people living in areas where gay marriage is accepted there is still a great deal of resistance, with a restatement of arguments against gay marriage, but when examining those arguments many are flawed and reflect fears rather than fact.

Should this nation have the right to deny a citizen equality? Overall, the answer should be no. Surprisingly enough, the majority of our nation says there should not be marriage equality because it is unethical. The topic of marriage equality has been around for almost fifty years and it does not seem to be going away anytime soon as it is still a very prominent discussion in our society. The very first time a couple of the same sex applied for a marriage license was in December of 1970. The couples’ names were Richard John 'Jack' Baker and James Michael McConnell. They were denied marriage whenever they came forward to be married. As a result, they tried to sue the County District clerk, however the supreme court sided by the clerk (Gay Marriage Timeline History of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate). Less than three years later Maryland became the first state to officially make same sex marriage illegal and many other states soon followed in their footsteps. What made them prohibit same sex in the first place and did they have a valid reason in doing so?

Our country was built on the foundation of separation between church and state. But has the concrete wall of separation begun to deteriorate? Or was it ever really there at all? As we continuously battle over the rights to same sex marriage, the question of church or state surfaces. It is due time that we examine this matter and decide once and for all if the church should have any opinion in the matter when this country is supposed to be based on a separation of the two. Howard Moody, a Baptist minister, addresses the issue of state versus church in the matter of gay marriage in his article published in 2004 in the Nation. Moody’s

Gay marriages have been an ongoing event in the United States for many years. It was not until June 26, 2015 when gay marriage was legalized for all states with a five to four ratio. With gay marriage being legalized, there became many controversies in the nation. The most recent controversy was when a Kentucky county clerk was jailed after defying a federal court order to issue marriage licenses to a same-sex couple. She did not issue because she did not believe that homosexuality should be accepted in society. Many people agreed to the act but others opposed. There are many ways to look at homosexuality and here are three different sociological perspectives of how gay marriage is recognized. The perspectives are structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism, and conflict theory.

Like with most topics, this one has many counters, the most important of which is that it simply hurts no one. Many people will justify anything with a near-universal excuse - “It never hurt anybody for me to…” or “One little didn’t hurt anybody…” For most things these may be practical and somewhat logical, but for the topic of homosexuality and homosexual marriage, it does hurt someone, and that someone is the natural order of life, tfpstudentaction.org states: "There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage

The fight for the legalization of gay marriage is not a new one. Tracing back to the 1960s, one of the first instances of protest was in New York City. Police had been raiding gay bars often, but one day the gay and lesbian people began to fight back. This caused many riots and protest throughout the country. On June 26th, 2015, in a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states. However, even today, same-sex marriage is not fully accepted and supported. While some argue that gay marriage is wrong, there is good reason as to why it should be legal. Marriage is a right that benefits society protected by the U.S. constitution and the acceptance and legalization of same-sex marriage decreases the suicide rates among people.

But, slowly, marriage went from a practice, to a constitution. It became a commitment to truly love each other, and to make each other genuinely happy. It started between the seventeenth, and eighteenth century, when people supported marriage for love, rather than wealth. But, it was up until the twenty-first century that gays, and lesbians claimed a right to be married. Since 2001, a number of countries started to legalize gay marriage. Even though, gay individuals had already started to stand out, and declare their sexuality. But, they are still being outcasted in society.

On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Many conservative groups do NOT agree with this decision. The believe that gay marriage should not be permitted but civil unions should be granted to lesbians and homosexuals. On the other hand there is a large group that believes neither gay marriage nor civil unions should be offered to gay and lesbian couples and that any legal union should be available to heterosexual couples only. The different opinions that are expressed by society’s attitudes towards gay marriage continue to cause great controversy throughout the country, and should come to a halt by allowing homosexuals to wed.

Marriage is the union of two people as partners in a personal relationship with love and happiness, which is the right that everyone should have. Compared to any other institution, marriage provides guidance that helps people live their lives. Nowadays, the implication of same-sex marriage which is fairly debatable has now gained further attention. Furthermore, more and more countries have legalized gay couples marriage such as Netherlands and Canada. Also a lot of same-gender people in many countries claim that they should have the right to get married as same as everyone. However, there is a body of opinion that homosexual marriage might destroy the purpose or institution of marriage and cause some problems, such as the roles of same-gender parents. Although some people oppose same-sex marriage , there is some evidence that same-sex marriage cannot ruin the society.

In the Boston Globe newspaper editorial For Gay Marriage the editors argue that gay marriage should be legalized in America. Throughout the newspaper article the is topic of the expanding circle of rights (“Globe” A18). Movements include the civil-rights movement, gender equality, rights for the disabled, 18 year olds to vote, single mothers and adoptive parents have occurred it is apparent that the right for gay marriage should occur (“Globe” A18).These advances have occurred with the help of court cases. The 1967 supreme court case Loving V. Virginia Court rulings ruled that marriage should not be restricted because of ones race (“Globe” A18). Others ruled that adoption could not be denied on the basis of sexual orientation. The Globe states that under the Massachusetts constitution, “Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed or national origin”to argue their point gay marriage should be legalized(A18). Along with the presidents The Globe uses Hillary Goodridge as an example of how her rights were abridged when she was unable to see her newborn daughter in a neonatal intensive care unit because she was not married to her partner of 15 years. (A18). The Editors discuss opposing reasons to why gay marriage should not be legalized by Massachusetts Attorney General. One argument the attorney general makes is that marriage is, “…A social institution designed to promote child bearing and rearing” (A18). The Globe the refutes this

As of today, the world is constantly becoming more modern. Social issues of the past are nothing like they are now. Controversies, like equal rights for gays and lesbians, are being debated and resolved as the world advances. Now that gays and lesbians have the same civil rights as a straight man or woman, many states are wondering if homosexuals should be afforded the right to marry the same gender. Same sex marriage is becoming an important topic in America which holds a great deal of attention; while many people and organizations encourage and uphold the right to a same sex wedding, there are still those who refuse to stand behind it.

Why are so many people against gay marriage? I myself am for allowing gay marriage, gay marriage gives hope to kids that don’t have parents to have parents. In the first paragraph, I will explain the positives of gay partners and if it benefits the children getting adopted. Alas in the second I will explain if children get treated different from peers or from family members or other types of social environments. Finally, in the third I will explain the negatives and the other side of this story to give you an idea of other people views. Let’s dig in and get started!

It has been clarified that same-sex couples who may only enter into a civil union, has faced to a marriage, they have denied equal access to all the benefits, rights, and privileges provided by federal law to those of married couples, that has adverse effects on the wellbeing of same sex partners. Gay marriage is one of the most controversial issues in the modern world. For the previous thousand years, marriage has been recognized as the social union between a man and a woman. In most cultures across the nation, homosexuality was viewed with disdain, and marriages between same-sex couples were forbidden.

The aim of my individual research project was to find out whether or not our local community would like to see equal marriage rights for Australian same-sex couples. I created and conducted interviews and surveys based around the question of “Marriage Equality. Should Australian same-sex couples be allowed to marry?”