Judging from this article from Wall Street Journal, the major conflict that exists in this same-sex-marriage-legalization debate is between the free-speech clause and antidiscrimination law. Technically, the people who refused to offer their service to the homosexual people based on their religious belief were not legally wrong according to the first amendment. However, did the homosexual couples do anything wrong? No, they didn’t. They ordered the same services, and they were willing to pay the same amount of money. What they wanted was nothing illegal. Then here comes the dilemma, how can neither of them be “wrong” in a conflict? So, this paper will analyze the “rightness” and the “wrongness” in an ethical dilemma between civil rights …show more content…
For Kantian ethics, the standard is based on if most people are acting the same way. Even though some people are still struggling on whether they should support the LGBT community, the statistics give us a clear trend of people’s change of their perspective on same-sex marriage. According to the national polling data, the number of people who support the same-sex marriage had risen from 37 percent in 2005 to 60 percent in 2015. Apparently, with the development of the modern society, more and more people are becoming open-minded and willing to show their support to the LGBT community. Moreover, while some religious people against the same-sex marriage, some of them choose to support it due to the different interpretation of the bible they are holding. “Jesus never said a single word about gays or lesbians or same-sex marriage, or any of the other social issues that so many people seem to be possessed with fighting today”, said Ducan(n.d),a Christian. Since the number of supporting the legalization of same-sex marriage has an increasing tendency, in this instance, same-sex marriage can be defined morally right standing on the popular belief. For the principle of Rights, whether a business decision is defined ethical depends on how it affects the rights of stakeholders, including owners, consumers, employees, the community and the society. For the firms that rejected to do business with Gay couples, they
The controversy between marriage equality and the exercise of religious freedom is a confliction between nondiscrimination laws and religious freedom laws. Religious freedom seemed to be an important aspect of an American citizen, after all it is the very first amendment to the constitution. With each American citizen being granted equality by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination made against an individual based on his/her sexual preference may seem to violate this act. In history, religious organizations typically been immune from state and local laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, with the cases of Obergefell v. Hodges and Kim Davis this stance is challenged.
I join the opinion of the court in favor of Hodges and offer these accompanying thoughts. In order to determine if the state is required under the Fourteenth Amendment to license a marriage of same sex, we must establish a foundation in regards to marriage and its entitlements. The court argues that marriage “is not a fundamental right,” and with this conclusion, the state is not be required to legally recognize any marriage it does not see fit. Fundamental rights are due strict scrutiny, but issues of liberty interest only require rational basis. There is a significant difference between the two approaches with ‘rational basis’ only requiring that the law be related to a government interest. “Rational basis” review is generally used in cases where fundamental rights are of issue and is thus fitting for this case under these assumptions.” The constitution does not specifically list marriage as a fundamental right in the Bill of Rights or any of its additional amendments and thus leaves ample room for interpretation of is significance. The defense attempts to use the Fourteenth amendment in their defense as it asserts,
Under circumstances, such as same-sex marriage, Jeff Jordan claims it is morally wrong. In his essay “Is It Wrong to Discriminate on the Basis of Homosexuality”, Jordan analysis how such rights would go against others views and public policy ramifications. To make it apparent that his claims about same-sex marriages are correct Jordan states what the two conflicting sides argue.
Same sex or gay marriage is a topic that is always in the news these days. Well, a recent Supreme Court case's decision was to legalize this type of marriage here in the US. This essay will give a brief history of same sex marriages, summarize the legal reasoning of both the majority and dissent in the Supreme Court Decision and even evaluate how the media interpreted the decision.
State legislatures, voters and more recently the courts have made sweeping changes over the past two decades in laws defining whether marriage is limited to relationships between a man and a woman or is extended to same sex couples. Gay marriage and gay rights are a major controversy in the world today. It is a constant debate on whether or not traditional marriage is out-of-date and that a new way is better. Although many believe in gay rights, it is difficult to support something that is against the foundation of America, and something that is harmful to the people of America.
Same sex marriage is an inflammatory issue in today’s political landscape. Seemingly every election cycle brings us incendiary statements about how “the gays” are destroying America’s moral fabric from segments of the right. Meanwhile the idea of same sex marriage is becoming more and more accepted among young generations. The courts lie in the middle of this chaos. When laws are passed which discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community and are met with legal challenges, it is up to the courts to make a difficult decision. They must decide if the rights of the minority are important enough to disregard the will of the majority of voters. To do this, they must make some difficult decisions about how rights are defined, and what
The rights of same-sex couples is a big controversy currently, and although there are still many in opposition, the number of supporters increases regularly. Not only do most opposing take a religious standpoint, but they also claim is have a negative effect on “real marriage” and that same-sex households cannot provide the necessary parenting needed to properly raise a child. Not only do most advocates feel that some of the opposing arguments make no sense, but also that others are based off of sole assumption rooted in personal agenda. Also, the most important aspect of and reasoning for marriage is love, and it is unfair to deny same-sex couples the right to prove and commit to their love. Based on the first Amendment, the Bible has no legal standing in American law. Homosexuals are here to stay and most opposition to gay marriage is simply discrimination based on conflict of beliefs. This argument is no different than the civil rights movement for equal rights to African Americans in which, in its time, it was almost unheard of to consider sharing schools, water fountains, or even interracial marriages. This is now seen as an outdated vise for discrimination, and as African Americans cannot decide their color, homosexuals stick by their experience that they did not choose this and that they have struggled with their sexuality throughout their entire lives. The arguments for and in refute of those against same sex marriages seem sound.
Same-sex marriage is against the law and against the moral standards of the religious society. In this paper I will sympathize with the homosexual community in order to improve their views on marriage. First amendment of the Constitution protects and makes homosexuality legal. Marriage is also legal. Marriage laws and the rights that fall under marriage are defined and upheld by the states. Should same-sex marriage remain illegal? Homosexuals believe rights guaranteed to married heterosexual couples should not be denied to homosexual couples.
Same sex “marriage” is harmful and wrong and must be opposed. This is tending to cause issues that occur in the world today. The law that was passed on same sex marriage in 2016 has affected the views of many people around the world. There are many reasons why I believe this is cruel and wrong.
From the point of view of Gallagher, marriage is to give a child a mother and a father and to raise them in the best environment possible. She argues that when men a women have a kid and are not married or stay married the family structure falls apart and then is when many bad things happen to more kids like: poverty, welfare dependence, child abuse, sexual abuse, physical illness, infant mortality, homicide, premature and promiscuous sexuality, juvenile delinquency, educational failure, conduct disorders and adult criminality and many others. This is also when children suffer and communities pay the consequences with crime. This is why she thinks that having a good family structure meaning one father and one mother is so important. She
On June 26, 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized across the united states, due to a decision the Supreme Court made; the decision made all state level bans on same-sex marriage were considered unconstitutional, thus overruling the bans. In the dissenting argument on the Supreme Court’s Decision to legalize same-sex couple marriage, Chief Justice Roberts makes a passionate argument revolving around the fact that it was the Supreme Court that made the decision and not the Country.
The topic of same-sex marriage has been heavily debated for the past decade. Discussions continue whether a marriage is between two people who are in love and agree to spend the rest of their lives together regardless of their sex or if it is reserved for only heterosexuals. Since the beginning of The Gay Rights Movement in the early nineteenth century, groundbreaking developments have come to the surface, presenting strong arguments on both sides of this topic. Currently, there are 1.2 million homosexual people living with a same sex partner in America (Rex). These individuals are not being treated as equals and stripped of their rights because of the person and/or gender they love. Because I believe in equality of all people and that marriage is sacred bond between two people who share an intimate relationship with each other, I believe same-sex marriage should be legal in all states.
Today’s society is all about controversy, whether it is political controversy or social controversy, society thrives on it. What is more controversial in today’s society than same sex marriage? It is a topic that has battered Americans for decades, and just recently has it been decided that same sex marriage and relations is awarded by the constitution. Before this it was at states discretion whether or not to allow those of the same sex to marry. But, on June 26, 2015 the Supreme Court ruled that the constitution gave legal rights to same sex couples to marry in all 50 states where prior to that only 37 states had legalized same sex marriage. (Freedom to Marry Inc.) So, what about those 13 other states, how did they feel about this
-Lately the congress of the United States has considered, but failed to approve the so-called Federal Marriage Amendment. This would amend the US Constitution to legally define marriage as the union of a man and a woman only. Utah has passed a similar amendment that was ratified by Utah voters in the general election of 2004. I believe that couples of the same sex should be able to marry, and receive the same rights as man and women couples, but I 'm going to argue both points. The pros and the cons of same sex marriage.
Nowadays, nothing seems to “bottle up” the controversial battles quicker than the major topic of homosexuality in the bible. More specifically, in the New Testament. We can ultimately see how this exceptional, controversial topic is demonstrating a more and more common perplexity to perceive disputation being successful in the defense of homosexuality. If you ask me, everywhere you turn homosexuality is being exerted down our esophagus as being something "natural". I get a sense it is a means, whereas American individuals can rebel against the government and be indecorous about it. Besides, in this year alone, we had the USA Today News is saying, “WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Friday, January 16, 2015 at 6:12 P.M. to resolve the national debate over same-sex marriage once and for all1”. This disputation after-all it was approved and overturned into 36 out of 50 states. At the end, we can distinctly see how precipitously separated our public position toward homosexuals are rapidly changing to reflect greater acceptance, while our younger generations is directing the path.