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Theodore Olson Same Sex Marriage

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This article discussed two opposing positions on whether or not same sex marriage should be legal. Theodore Olson argues for legal marriages while Lyle Denniston argues against. Theodore Olson viewpoint uses the US Constitution and the belief that all people are created equal as the support for his argument. He believes that same sex marriage is the natural evolution in equal rights and calls it “the last major civil-rights milestone yet to be surpassed in our two-century struggle” (McKee & Taverner, 2013, p. 118). Additionally he attempts to refute the justification behind California’s anti-gay marriage position. Specifically, he discredits the explanation of the tradition of husband and wife and the state’s interest in preserving procreation. As far as tradition he believes that traditions does not allow for progression or change and for procreation he argues that allowing same sex marriage would not reduce the number of heterosexual marriages and therefore would have not reduce the number of children. This sentiment was echoed by Justice …show more content…

He believes that it is a threat to humanity itself, limiting the nation’s ability to renew itself, generation after generation (McKee & Tavern, 2013, p. 122). To defend his arguments, he cites numerous court cases whose outcome supports his positon that same sex marriages are not protected by the constitution. A number of states have used this argument in the past to justify anti-gay marriage sentiments, to include Arizona, According to MSNBC, Arizona approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2008. The state regulates marriage for “the primary purpose of channeling potentially procreative sexual relationships into enduring unions for the sake of joining children to both their mother and their

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