The Pros And Cons Of Same-Sex Marriage

Same-sex marriage or more formally known as gay marriage, is the marriage between two people of the same sex. In Australia it’s illegal, marriage in Australia is “the voluntary union, entered into for life, of one man and one women to the exclusion of all others” (Marriage Act 1961). In some states in the USA it is legal for example Colorado, California and New York. In Australia same-sex couples have no access to marriage, civil unions or other federal relationship registration. Same sex couples can be recognised as de facto couples. Same-sex couples are prevented from marrying by the amendments to the Marriage Act 1961, passed in 2004 by the Howard Government, Labor party. However same-sex couples who are married in countries where same-sex is legal cannot divorce within Australia due to the same-sex marriage ban. At the federal level, in 2008 and 2009, there was a wide-ranging suite of reforms to provide equal entitlements and responsibilities for same-sex couples, This includes social security, employment, taxation and superannuation. Tony Abbott has traditionally opposed same-sex marriage, and in 2012 parliament had debates on the same-sex marriage bills, in the election campaign, Abbott reaffirmed that he would not support legislation to allow gay marraige.

We are socialized to assumed heterosexuality is normal because it is all around us. Most of us are born into a heterosexual, mom and dad relationship. As we grow up looking up to them it becomes normal to see heterosexuality. Throughout my upbringing, my parents did not talk about homosexuality much. All of my family members throughout at least the first two generations identify as straight, so it was not something I grew up being around. Therefore it was never talked about in a positive or negative way. In biology class and church we are taught that we are on this earth to reproduce and contribute to the renewal of civilization. To do this the ‘normal’ way you would get married and heterosexually reproduce. It is taught that the only natural way to have sex is inserting a penis into a vagina. Institutions reinforce this by continuing to teach children throughout their education that man and woman are the normal thing. This belief came from the fact that a female egg cannot turn into a fetus unless it is fertilized by a male sperm. The cycle of heterosexual socialization promotes heterosexism because it is promoted as the ‘right’ thing to do throughout all forms of media and teachings. When all you see as a positive thing growing up is heterosexual, married couples with biological kids you are conformed to think that is the only way to find happiness. Heteronormative socialization excludes many different types of people such as couples who cannot conceive their own

The first spark to set flames to the waging war on marriage equality happened on October 15, 1971. In the Supreme Court case of Baker v. Nelson on October 15, 1971, one of three cases brought forth by same-sex couples, Richard Baker and James Richard McConnell were denied a marriage license by a county court clerk in Minnesota in May of 1970 (Minnesota Legislature, 1971, Richard John Baker and Another v. Gerald R. Nelson). The initial trial court dismissed their claim, declaring that the clerk had the power to refuse the right of marriage to gay couples. The couple lost again in the Minnesota Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court followed by confirming the ruling. For the next twenty four years, basic human rights were continuously denied nationwide in cases similar to Baker v. Nelson and in anti-gay attempts to restrict homosexual marriage. Eventually, there showed signs of hope such as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in May, 1996 and Massachusetts becoming the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in December, 1996. In relatively recent news, the LGBTQ community celebrated a monumental win as the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage a constitutional right for Americans nationwide. On the 25th of June, 2015, many rejoiced this new ruling. Unfortunately, just as many were disgusted at the new legislation. The topic of marriage equality is a unique controversy due to the fact that it gathers so many strong opinions to the cause from many different walks of life.

In the summer of 2015 the U.S supreme court ruled in favor to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 countries in the United States. This all occurred because of the Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) case. This very important case involved “14 same-sex couples and two men whose same-sex partners are deceased” and the couples argued that the “state officials violated [their] 14th amendment by denying them the right to marry or to have marriages lawfully performed in another state given full recognition and also violated their equal protection Clause. The supreme court ruled for this case because in the 14th Amendment it clearly declares that all people should have “equal protection under the law”, regardless of race or ethnicity.

The case Obergefell vs. Hodges reached the United States Supreme Court in 2015 (Oyez). This case dealt with the rights of same-sex marriages and became important case in our nation’s young history and in our society in general. The problem was groups of same-sex couples were being told that their marriage licenses were not being upheld to the same legal standards as those of heterogeneous couples. Therefore same-sex couples in Ohio, Tennessee , Kentucky, and Michigan went and sued these agencies in challenge of their constitutional rights (Oyez).They took their issue to court because they believed that the states were denying them their 14th amendment rights without due process. They couldn’t understand why their marriages license were not

A metamorphosis in how the American judicial system perceives same-sex marriage, has developed over the past forty years. In October, 1971, the Supreme Court ruled that: "The institution of marriage as a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family, is as old as the book of Genesis.”

The fight to legalize same-sex marriage has been a long, dramatic fight that has taken place over the past several decades. It is believed to have emerged during the 1960’s counterculture movement. Since then Americans have used the right to petition (216) and the right to assemble (216) as well as more serious methods to push for equality for persons identifying as homosexuals. In 1972, in the case of Richard John Baker v. Gerald

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

“Marco Rubio is running for President, pledging a constitutional amendments to define marriage between a man and a women, that scares me,” Pruter said. “Constitutional amendments are incredible hard to overturn so if that get passed that’s another fifty –sixty years that the LGBT community has been taken back.”

On April 28. 2016, The supreme court heard arguments in obergefell v. hodges over whether or not gay marriage should be a right guaranteed by the US. Constitution and also whether or not gay marriages performed in states where it has been legalized must be recognized in states where it was banned. On Friday, June 28, 2016, The court ruled 5-4 that gay marriage is a constitutional right. Being a constitutional right all 50 states must allow it and current bans are invalid. Even though same sex marriage is legal, There are still 13 states banning to marry same sex. These 13 states includes Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.

Marriage is a big thing in the U.S. In many religions marriage is to be between a man and woman. Recently the U.S. has experienced many gay marriages. Gay marriage was previously controlled by the states and whether or not that was legal. People involved in the gay community face a lot of hatred, harassed, and ridicule. There are pros and cons of being apart of a gay marriage. Pros are they have the same benefits that a heterosexual marriages, it is protected by the constitution, it is a civil right. As there are pros that means there have to be cons and some of those are children need both a father or mother the absence of one puts the child at higher risk for early sexual activity, legalizing gay marriage could lead down a "slippery slope," giving people in polygamous, incestuous, bestial, and other nontraditional relationships the right to marry, and gay couples will be looked upon as doing something wrong in the eye of religion.

The right to same sex marriage has been involved within the Constitution as part of Amendments V, VIII, and XV. Marriage is both global and central. All across our country, in every region, every social class, every race and ethnicity, every religion or non-religion, people get married. Same sex marriage was a division of social and political. An example of a court case dealing with same sex marriage is Baehr v. Lewin. In 1993, Hawaii’s high court issues first-of-a-kind ruling that a barrier to marriage is discrimination, launching the freedom to marry movement. Three years later in 1996, a full trial took place and was decided that the same-sex couples are entitled to marriage licenses. Later in 1998, Hawaii amends its constitution with regard to marriage by exempting same-sex couples from protection of equality guarantee, giving legislature the power to define marriage as limited to a man and a woman. However, a year later in 1999, Baehr v. Lewin Hawaii’s high court rules that Hawaii’s constitution no longer protects lesbian and gay individuals with regard to their freedom to marry. As in today, some states in the United States did not approve the right for same sex marriage. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to force same-sex marriage on all 50 states. According to the Supreme Court Justice page, “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that there is a federal constitutional right to

The current major state and federal law that is affecting same-sex marriage is the Defense of Marriage Act , or DOMA as it also called. The Defense of Marriage Act is a federal law that allows each state to recognize or deny any marriage-like relationship between persons of the same-sex that has been recognized in another state and it also explicitly recognizes for purposes of federal law that marriage is "a legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife" and by stating that spouse "refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife." When asking the people that I interviewed what their feelings were towards the Defense of Marriage Act and how it currently affects the issue of same-sex marriage and the interviewees who were for same-sex marriage felt that the law was inherently wrong and the person I interviewed who was opposed to same-sex marriage thought the law was good except for one obvious flaw with it.

Same-Sex couples have had a long battle in obtaining the right to marry. Some battles fought ended in victory, others in defeat. In the end, same-sex couples would win a major victory that would end the fight forever. This paper will review some of the battles that led to the Supreme Court decision that gave same-Sex couples the same legal rights to marry as opposite-sex couples and

On June 26, 2015, it was ruled by the the US Supreme Court that the US Constitution will guarantee that same-sex couples have the right to marriage in all 50 states of the US (state by state, n.d.). By many, this was celebrated as a victory. A Victory in the sense of equality, rights, and love. By others, this was seen as an immoral setback. I come to wonder who is right. Is there a right side? I know that there is a side who is for same-sex marriage and there is a side of those who oppose it. However, I know that the Christian faith tends to side with the opponents. I am a Christian; does that mean I am to be an opponent?