Gay Marriage Exploratory

Facts: In 2000, California voters adopted Proposition 22, defining marriage as a relationship only between a man and a woman. The California Supreme Court invalidated Proposition 22 and California began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Proponents of Proposition 8, who opposed same-sex marriage, collected signatures and filed petitions to get Proposition 8 on the ballot. In November 2008, California voters approved Proposition 8, "which added language to the California Constitution that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman" (Santoro & Wirth, 2013). Two same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses and were denied, then brought suit under 42 U.S.C.S. ยง 1983, based on the idea that Proposition 8 violated equal protection. The State of California refused to argue in favor of Proposition 8 and the original proponents of Proposition 8 sought to defend the law. In May of 2009, Proposition 8 was ruled unconstitutional by a California District Court, which held that it violated both the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the trial court's decision. The case then came before the Supreme Court. However, the State of California is not defending Proposition 8; instead, a mix of private parties is defending the law. This has led to questions about standing as well as the constitutional issues in the case.

Proposition 8 was placed on a ballot in California which made same- sex marriage illegal, and was also deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Once the elected officials of California chose not to defend Proposition 8 once it was deemed unconstitutional the case should have been dismissed, and the petitioners shouldn’t have been allowed standing for appeal. DOMA was purposed that if States recognized same- sex marriages they were to be classified as second-class marriages for purposes of federal law. The definition of marriage between a man and a woman is a religious ideology. To deny a person their right as a citizen of the United States of America to marry whomever they choose is illegal, and the Courts have agreed. Since the U.S. Supreme Court rendered the decision in the Loving v. Virginia (1958) which deemed the laws of banning interracial marriages unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Protection Clause under the 14th Amendment. Justice Earl Warren noted “Under the Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, the person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State.” This has opened up many discussions that because the ban of interracial marriages was deemed unconstitutional the laws that marriage is only between a man and a woman is a gendered based classification. Restricting marriage on the foundation of a person’s gender is just as unconstitutional as laws restricting marriage on the basis of a person’s

Marriage is universally understood to be the legal union between a man and a woman. This acknowledgement, however, has recently generated dispute and controversy in certain individuals, primarily homosexuals and supporters of homosexual marriages. This opposition, due to this mainstream view, exists because certain states such as Minnesota deny same-sex marriages.

However, opponents argue that the law’s intent was “never about the best interests of Texans or of children, but about forwarding a political agenda to codify the permission to discriminate against LGBTQ Texans into state law,” as GLAAD’s president Sarah Kate Ellis put it in a statement.

Gay marriage has been an issue for a very long time and since some states are legalizing it, many worry that it would soon be added as an amendment. The topic of gay marriage brings up religious, legal, and many other issues. In "What's wrong with Gay Marriage?" by Katha Pollitt, the author supports gay marriage and wants it legalized. She states that there is no problem with gay marriage and it's all a matter of separating the church and state. But in “Gay ‘Marriage’: Societal Suicide,” by Charles Colson, the author opposes the idea of gay marriage and states that it will destroy society. Marriage is intended to unite a man and a woman together to bring children into the world, but due to the same-sex marriage,

Learning family advocacy requires students to develop an understanding of contemporary cultural issues surrounding traditional marriage. The struggle over defining marriage was thought to be somewhat settled through the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); however, as this law’s ramifications were realized, greater debate resulted about the moral, philosophical, and civic repercussions of this legal definition. This paper will provide a better understanding of the historical and worldview changes that occurred within the United States over homosexuality and same-sex marriage (SSM). After gaining a better understanding of these issues, the paper will also provide an exploration of the strengths and weaknesses of DOMA from these differing perspectives. In addition, recommendations will be offered for further changes of law and advocacy that would encourage the altering of current thought intent on stifling the defense of traditional marriage.

The legalization of gay marriage has been a controversial issue in many state courts since the mid 1970s. Gay marriage scares many people because it strays from the norms of heterosexual relationships. Traditional American ideals have become a part of culture and society that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, or race, or gender, expect to have as a basic human rights. Several times in history these have been identified as inalienable rights. One of the expected rights of many American citizens is the right to choose who they love, who they marry, and how they live their day to day life. When heterosexual Americans were introduced to the idea of same sex marriage, they became afraid that it would “taint the minds of the young members of the community,” since homosexualty was and still is frowned upon in the community. Thus, the homosexual community’s opportunity to freely choose how to live their life is taken

Religious people argue that marriage is a religious right instead of a civil one. In their eyes allowing same sex couples to marry is a sacrilege, since the US was based on god and still is to some

On November 4, 2008, proposition 8 passed with 52.24% of California voters saying “yes,” and 47.76% saying “no.” Proposition 8, known otherwise as the Eliminating the Rights of Same-Sex Couples to Marry, was one of the biggest propositions to hit the media. It spread like wildfire and was so popular that on June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled against proposition 8 making it legal for same sex marriages to occur in California. The idea of marriage was no longer seen as a man and a woman, but the idea that you can marry the person you love regardless of their sex/gender. According to the Huffington post on the battle against proposition 8, “Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional

In "On Gay Marriage in Churches, Stances Vary Among Religions, Clergy, Members" by Jaweed Kaleem, published on June 26, 2013, Kaleem investigates the various religious reactions to the declaration of the Defense of Marriage Act's unconstitutionality, which subsequently also reversed Proposition 8 in California. Much of the conflict that has arisen is due to the religious definition of marriage being defined as a union between a man and a woman. While some religious institutions, such as the

Supreme Court passed Proposition 8 which states that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Perry claims that not allowing gay couples to marry violates Amendment Fourteen, the Equal Protection Clause. On the contrary, Hollingsworth argues that same-sex couples are a bad example of married couples that have kids, as well as a religion that indicates a marriage solely for a man and a woman. This particular case questions if the Supreme Court has the right to say that a marriage should only be between a man and a woman and that if gay couples marry will it be a bad example to other marriages and the kids they have. Another case that this article brings up is United States v Windsor, in this case a couple that marries in Canada but lives in New York does not get defined as married couple. Since one of the partners passed away, all of the property the person left to her partner had taxes to be payed that she shouldn’t have to pay in the first place, but because in New York they weren’t an official married couple, she had to do

At the forefront of the gay marriage debate is the Catholic Church, which has become the most outspoken critic against marriage equality. With approximately 78 million Catholics in America, this is a huge number of people who subscribe to a religion that self-identifies as being strongly anti-gay (Parnass). Chapter 20 of Leviticus, a book of the Old Testament oft-quoted for its numerous examples which Catholics claim provides credence to their anti-gay beliefs, states that “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them” (The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Lev. 20:13). In other words, this passage states that any man who has sexual relations with another man has committed a sin and will be put to death because of it. However, the Catholic Church is in no position to claim that marriage between same-sex couples should not be allowed. What many Catholics fail to realize is that marriage is a secular institution, meaning that any one man and woman can get married outside of the church regardless of the religion, or lack

To be honest, lets just say that you are super in love with your boyfriend or girlfriend, now what would you do if someone told you that you cant be with that person because you guys are straight. What if everyone looked down upon people that were straight because the only “right” way is to be gay? Do you see what I’m getting at?

Proposition 8 Violates the separation of church and state. In the state of California Proposition 8 passed. Proposition 8 would deny gays the right to marry, a civil right that is

Same-sex Marriage is a question that comes across my path on a consistent basis. The agency where I work advocates this practice, which requires yearly training videos to ensure everyone understands the rules of the practice. Although our society bends the laws to support this practice, I will argue that government laws do not hold true to God’s law or even the law of nature. Additionally, I will argue that marriage, by natural law, is designed for procreating purposes.