“The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.” – United States Supreme Court majority decision in Loving v. Virginia.
America is a nation built on fundamental rights. In our Declaration of Independence, our new nation guaranteed its citizens “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. Today, the political debate over the decisive issue of gay marriage forces us to rethink our commitment to those deliberate words.
Throughout our history, America’s homosexual population has struggled against society to prove that they have the right to marry anyone they love, regardless of sex. Until only recently, in fact, the vast majority of
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Most of the opposition would argue that forbidding gays to marry is not discrimination simply because, to them, marriage is defined as a union between one man and one woman.
Therefore, many of those against gay marriage are still in support of gay rights and would argue that the state should instead recognize same-sex “civil unions” and give the civil unions the same benefits of marriage. However, they argue that a gay partnership should not have the designation as marriage. Those in favor of civil unions instead of marriage will tell you the two institutions are equal.
But they are not.
On the surface, civil unions may sound like a good idea - even I supported them at first.
However, I would argue that civil unions are formed out of exactly the same policy as “separate but equal” from the civil rights movement, which the Supreme Court consequently declared is
“inherently unequal." Although the circumstances of the Brown v. Board of Education
“separate but equal” ruling were different than today’s gay marriage situation, both issues have the same underlying principle. How so? By creating a separate category for same-sex marriage, civil unions are essentially a separate class below the rest of us; a class unfit for marriage - a class for those who are “unequal” to the rest of us. Marriage and civil unions are fundamentally unequal, and this is clearly unconstitutional, as is shown in the Equal Protection Clause of
Ask anyone, they will all tell you they are in favor of equal rights for homosexuals. Just name the situation. They will all say, yes, gays
”since the beginning of civilization, in every known society, governments have recognized a marriage between a man and a woman because it provides the next generation outstanding citizens and is the only means of melding two sexes into a stronger and more complete whole” (Kaufman 164).
History has an ironic way of repeating itself at times, the phrase “separate but equal” has rang through the ears of black culture millions of times, only for it to resonate itself within same-sex couples again. The debate of Civil Unions vs. Marriage was on the minds of many before 2015, when the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage legal nationwide. These Civil Unions that had existed only until recently was just the rationale used over a century ago for the same purposes. Both had the intention of having equality, but through corruption and misunderstanding, it was never fully achieved. Thankfully, just as the African Americans protested for their rights, the LGBT community also followed suit and won their rights, but not after a long
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;
Some oppose same-sex marriages on the grounds of tradition, like Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) who states that:
Although I do believe that marriage should stay between a man and a woman, it is hard to defend every religious persons beliefs and the discombobulated upbringing of children without changing the law. In reality gays/lesbians feel as if they should be treated equally and there is nothing we as people can fight enough to change
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
Another largely agreed upon opinion is that the Federal and State governments have no right to define or intervene in marriage and who can and cannot get married because marriage is a religious practice. Following the belief of separation of church and state, those that take this stance have a variety of opinions on how this hot button issue should be handled. Most will say that every definition needs to be thrown out and that for legal or insurance purposes anyone who is married, regardless of orientation, should have their relationship defined as a Civil Union by the government. Additionally, some will even go as far as to say those who are
The state of Vermont accepted and promoted same sex marriages by classifying them as “civil unions” in order to maneuver around DOMA. Vermont believed that “civil unions” would provide lesbian and gay individuals with financial and emotional benefits that are accessible to heterosexual individuals who are married (Kranz & Cusick, 2000). Vermont’s objectives were to provide an inclusive versus separation and discrimination reality for fellow Vermonters (Kranz & Cusick, 2000). In 1998, Hawaii’s state legislation implemented the DOMA amendment that altered the state’s constitution and rejected same sex marriages. “28 states passed laws preventing the recognition of same sex marriages” (Kranz & Cusick, 2000).
In the past few decades, the question of allowing for same-sex marriage is a recurring topic of controversy. In the houses of same-sex couples, the need for equal rights is of great importance. Currently, many states ban the marriage of same-sex couples and do not view a marriage between same-sex couples as an official marriage. These states quote the Constitutional definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Therefore, with this definition, the marriage of a man and a man or a woman and a woman is unconstitutional. As of the issue date of this article, the Supreme Court had not made a national decision on same-sex marriage and the benefits entitled to that marriage. This CQ Researcher journal focuses on the topic of
Legalizing gay marriage has given America a troubling debate throughout a majority of the states. With only thirty-seven states allowing legal gay marriage, the other thirteen have either banned it or are still deciding (unknown, 2015, para 1). Gay marriage is seen as different and wrong to so many people in America that is has become sickening. People do have their differences and as Justin Timberlake once said, “We’re people and we’re different, all of us. And we should be using our differences to bring ourselves closer together” and with this being said, everyone is equal to one another in different ways (Timberlake, 2014, 10). For example, two people could have two different religions, which is different, but also equal in the sense
The definition of marriage has altered over the years due to changes within the government. Traditionally it was defined as the ”legally accepted relationship between a man and a woman in which they live as husband and wife” in the Cambridge dictionary. However, those interpretations of marriage changed as people’s attitude matured and people became opinionated about their human rights. People believed that it should be up to the individual to make their decision about how to live their lives. One of our civil rights as stated in the Declaration of Independence, is the right to pursue happiness. That this right was given to everyone by the Creator and it’s up to the government to protect these rights. Despite that, many people of the
take a stance on homosexuality, these individuals do have certain liberties, just as all persons have liberties unless a legitimate state interest can be found to say otherwise. The Court’s broad sense of “liberty” has opened the door for the inclusion of same-sex marriage to be included in one’s personal liberties. The denials of the benefits that come with marriage have other impacts in the life of the person as they may face tougher medical, economical and familial situations. Having the right to visit an ailing partner in the hospital, buying property and filing taxes together, and decisions to raise children and have legal equal access over those children are just some of the burdens that unmarried same-sex couples face. The only time a liberty is allowed to be taken away from an individual is if there exists a legitimate state interest. There is no rational state interest in same-sex marriage. The protection of family values would
Same-sex marriage at this time one of the most debated political issues in our nation. The controversy over same-sex marriage is a very touchy subject. It involves many legislative, religious and family matters. Advocates claim that same-sex couples should have the same marriage rights and that same-sex marriages should be acknowledged the same way as heterosexual couples. Advocated state that eliminating gay marriage is a form of discrimination. The varying definitions of marriage comes with a large amount of dispute. Those who support same-sex marriage often debate that love should be the main reason for marriage, regardless of your sexual orientation. Those who are opposed often quote religious viewpoints and concerns about the nurturing
Out of all the thousands of rights, marriage equality; equal acceptance of same-sex marriages; is the biggest controversy. Opposite sex couples believe that gay marriage will harm or destroy marriage all together if it is allowed, because it is not a ‘traditional’ marriage between one male and one female. Only banning same-marriage will destroy marriage and society. Marriage is a keystone of our social order. Studies show that the United States has one of the highest divorce rates when compared to other countries (infogr.am). Allowing gays the privilege to get married will increase marriage rates and less couples will get divorced due to not being attracted to the opposite sex. The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy, which has conducted previous studies on same-sex relationships and parenting, collected administrative data on divorce rates between lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender couples from New Hampshire and Vermont. The data found that same-sex couples divorced at an average rate of 1.1 percent annually between the two states, compared with 2 percent annually between heterosexual pairs