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The Controversy Of Legalizing Gay Marriage

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If you cannot beat them join them, this commonly used phrase is overlook and ignored by many. The power and value of this simple phrase holds in todays society is quite astonishing. Individuals ban together for a cause, influencing society and then enacting legislature to allow authoritive figures to enforce the common cause. Louisiana is a perfect example of this. The state lost government funding when they did not raise the drinking age. By pressuring, or as some say punishing, the federal government was able to use their authority to force Louisiana to coincide with the rest of the nation. More recently states are slowly but surely legalizing Gay Marriage. This is also an example of how slowly individual states are acknowledging the …show more content…

Citizens gave the government authority by abiding to laws and by paying taxes. By withholding federal funding, states resisting this new law soon began to come around to the idea of changing the drinking age.
More recently we see states legalizing same-sex marriage. This is a prime example of how individuals used passion to influence society to make a change. In 1970 the first same-sex couple filed for a marriage license. Although it was denied this single act spoke volumes. People began to recognize the issue at hand. Thirty years later, “In December [of] 2000, the Netherlands became the first country” to legalize same-sex marriage. This was a monumental step for same-sex activists. This gave leverage, and to helped to persuade others in order to instill change. In 2003 The United States begins to see citizens voting in favor of same-sex marriage. The phrase if you cant beat them, join them, becomes an excellent example of what is to come in the nearing months. With nearly 40 states allowing gay marriage, and “more than 70 percent of Americans [living] in places where gay couples can marry”. It is only a matter of time before we see all 50 states now recognizing gay marriage.

The idea that the individual has more passion, than a society is completely agreeable. For the “society is an extension of the individual”, should enough people have passion for a more environmentally-friendly life style the society will

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