Legalize Gay Marriage Essay

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) allows for all the states to deny same-sex couples the same rights as their counterparts. It also gives a formal definition to marriage as the union between a man and a woman (Same Sex Marriage, 2017). The bill does violate the Establishment clause in the First Amendment as the government fails to separate church and state. The document does allude to the book of Genesis when it defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman (Text-HR, 2017). However, most of the nation did not approve of same-sex marriages as the time so the President chose to sign the bill that would later be revoked because of court case Obergefell vs Hodges (Same Sex Marriage, 2017).

The case was later sent to lower court. Voters approved a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage. Hawaii gain national attention, over 40 states over the next 10 years will pass the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMAs). That defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. On September 21, 1996. President Bill Clinton, signed Federal Defense Of Marriage Act into a law. Which define marriage at a federal level between one man and one woman. This meant there would be no recognition in same sex nor federal protection and benefits given to married heterosexual couples. Vermont was the first state to introduce same sex marriage by enacting a statue without being required to do so by a court decision. December 20, 1999, Vermont court ruled in baker v. Vermont that Vermont constitution entitles same sex couples to the same benefits and protections afforded by Vermont law to married opposite sex couples. Between 2005 and Sep. 15, 2010, 14 more states followed suit, bringing the total number of states with constitutional bans on gay marriage to 30. On July 19, 2011, the Obama administration announced that it will be supporting a bill to repeal the Defense Of Marriage Act. Another decision on Feburary 23, 2011, Obama instructed the Justice Department ti stop defending Defense of Marriage act, over concerns that it violates the fifth amendment. On May 9, 2012 President Obama was the first sitting

This act was passed to define and protect the institution of marriage which is supposed to be “between a man and a woman”. As a tactic, the state of Vermont promoted same sex marriages by labeling them as “civil unions” (Schowengerdt, 2002). The state of Vermont felt civil unions would provide gays and lesbians with the same financial benefits as heterosexual couples (Stewart, 2004). In 1998, Hawaii’s stated legislation implemented the DOMA amendment that altered the state’s constitution and rejected same sex marriages (Schowengerdt, 2002). Between 1995 and 2000, 28 states passed laws preventing the recognition of same sex marriages (Schowengert, 2002). The purpose of the DOMA was to prevent gays and lesbians from “exporting same sex marriages to other states” (Finnis, 1997). A Florida Federal Judge denied two women recognition of their marriage which took place in Massachusetts. As a result of this denial, attemtps were made to force other states and the federal government to recognize same sex marriages in states where it is legal (Stewart, 2003).

During the 1980s, Wisconsin became the first state to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation while Vermont became the first state to legalize civil unions between same-sex couples in 2000. The first legal marriage in the US took place in 2004 in Massachusetts. But LGBT couples still did not have complete freedom throughout the country to marry the partner of their choice. California made same-sex marriage illegal in 2008 and the struggle continued till President Barack Obama became the

Today, we see an example of the Supremacy Clause taking action when it comes to same-sex marriage rights. Prior to June 26, 2015 each state had the option to ban or recognize gay and lesbian marriages in its own government. For instance, some states, such as Texas, did not deliver marriage licenses to the LGBT community, where other states would. In June, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that all states must issue same-sex marriage licenses and lift their ban on the issue. Although each individual state was previously allowed to govern this area independently, once a Supreme Court decision was introduced, that power was over-ruled. When it was decided that gay and lesbian couples had a right to marry, the states no longer had the ability to pass laws against gay and lesbian couples. This became the new law of the land.

During the period of 2003 to 2015, various lower court decisions, state legislation, and popular referendums had already legalized same-sex marriage to some degree in thirty-eight out of fifty U.S. states, in the U.S. territory Guam, and in the District of Columbia.

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme court ruled gay marriage as a constitutional right in all 50 states. This was a tremendous achievement for the LGBT community, it was the beginning of acceptance. Even though the Supreme Court passed this ruling

Section 1: The first major law that affected same-sex marriage was the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). It was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996. DOMA defined that marriage was between a man and a woman at the federal level. It also gave states the right to reject recognition of same-sex marriages from other states. “DOMA mandates unequal treatment of legally married same-sex couples, selectively depriving them of the 1,138+ protections and responsibilities that marriage triggers at the federal level.” (Freedom to Marry) At the time DOMA was passed, no states permitted gays and lesbians to marry. On June 26, 2013, in Windsor v. United States, “Justice Anthony Kennedy, speaking for the 5-4 majority, said DOMA was unconstitutional because it violated the right to liberty and to equal protection for gay couples.” (Savage) When the ruling was declared, twelve states and the District of Columbia legally recognized

“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage. But when you start playing around with constitutions, just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that 's not what America 's about. Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don 't contract them,” President Barack Obama says. Soon later, on July 26, 2015 President Barack Obama declares that same-sex marriage will be allowed in all states of America. The United States Supreme Court ruled that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples and the refusal to recognize same-sex marriages being performed is no longer allowed in the US. After the announcement, the country went lunatic.

Windsor struck down the Defense of Marriage Act. The Defense of Marriage Act (commonly referred to as “DOMA”), enacted in 1996, defined for the purposes of the federal government that marriage was a union between one man and one woman. DOMA prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex. In Windsor, the Supreme Court ruled that DOMA was unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause. It required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages that have been entered into in states that recognized same-sex marriage. At the time of the Windsor decision New Jersey did not recognize same-sex

I will summarize some of the key points from the essay, Let Gays Marry, by Andrew Sullivan, and the essay, Leave Marriage Alone, by William Bennett. Some of these main points are taken from mutual beliefs of both authors and others are derived from the opposing opinions of the two.

In 2004, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, the District of Columbia and two Native American tribal jurisdictions have legalized same sex marriages. As the years go on, more and more same sex couples will continue to fight for their right to marry who they choose and more states will eventually allow same sex couples their rights to marry whomever they choose (Koppelman, 2004).

Gay marriage is a very talked about topic in are country that shouldn’t be ignored. I believe men and women should be able to love freely and not be shamed by it. Marriage is a great factor in the United States. To some people it’s what we live for; is to get married and start a family. To not give everyone the same opportunity to have a happy marriage and family is unlike us. This problem is bringing a lot of hate, the same hate that was used in racial discrimination so why not give gays equal rights like everyone else. Andrew Sullivan wrote a article that shares his experiences of coming out and being accepted. When puberty hit he started to realize he wasn’t the same. He knew that his marriage is not going to be the same as his

Gay marriage should be legal because as woman and man, all individuals have the same right in society; because same-sex couples can constitute a good based family; because it is just a way to make official a common union nowadays, even with the religious issue; because it is not related to polygamy; and because love matters and it does not differ in nature according to the sex of its object or the person who experiences it.

Since the beginning of time, Homo sapiens have discriminated against people with differences such as color of skin, religion, politics, and more. Over the years, society has changed to accept these differences, yet Americans still ostracize the gay community as if they were less than human. Currently one specific controversy comes to mind in consideration of gays, and that is gay marriage. The controversies surrounding gay marriage include the legal, religious, and philosophical problems that allowing gay marriage could cause. The United States currently does not recognize gay partnerships as legal marriages, and therefore when gay partners file for a tax refund both partners must mark single for the type of relationship. Though the