Ukip says ‘no’ to single-sex marriages - At least for now Nigel Farage, leader of Ukip, refuses to

simply because, to them, marriage is defined as a union between one man and one woman.

The definition of marriage has changed over time. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the United States defined marriage as a union between a consenting man and woman, of non-African decent (Stahlberg, 2008, p. 443). This, however, changed after the civil war. In 1868 two consenting adults of opposite gender could marry someone of the same race, but this was also restructured in 1967 to allow marriage of all consenting adults of opposite genders regardless of race (Stahlberg, 2008, p. 443). Today, the law looks very different. Recently, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marriage (gay marriage, 2015).

With diminishing control of what happens in Britain, the British people decided it was best to vacate the union. The British were dealing with the laws given by the European members who were not living and experiencing the country themselves. To provide an example of a ghastly law given to the British people, they, as part of the European Union, were only allowed to catch 20% of the fish swimming in British territorial waters. What this meant was that tens of thousands of jobs were lost and they were not able to use one of the most significant resources given to them, as Britain is surrounded by ocean. Nigel Farage, Leader of the UK Independence Party, says that his fellow Englishmen, “effectively gave away the ability to look after one of our greatest resources to a bureaucracy based in Brussels.” Because of the way the government was set up, “Not only could the voters not change anything, but the institutes themselves are incapable of reform.” With an already maimed government, the European Union was creating more problems than it was solving. The British people had enough of giving up their rights as British citizens so the European Commission could tell them how to live. Therefore, with problems like those arising from the Union and with no hope to resolve them, Britain filed for secession and pulled out of the union

The two texts examined within, present the opposing extremes of views regarding gay and lesbian marriage. The first text entitled Let Gays Marry by Andrew Sullivan examines the intricacies of same sex relationships and why homosexual couples should be allowed to publicly show affection for one another. The second text that will be examined is titled Leave Marriage Alone written by William Bennett. Bennett gives his views on why couples of same sex nature should not be allowed to engage in marital relations. These two authors, although very different, each has a view of the ideals of marriage, and how it should be presented to the public.

To understand civil unions, people must understand the history, benefits, laws and relevance of a civil union. Civil unions are relatively still a new concept in the United States that is slowly becoming an irrelevant notion. Commonly same sex partners are the ones who would use a civil union. Due to the changing laws to marriage the need for a civil union is becoming unnecessary. There are many benefits to civil unions but one that stand out is the dissolution of a civil union. The dissolution of a civil union can be easier than a divorce, or just as difficult as a divorce. The benefits for a civil union pales in the comparison to the benefits of marriage. Civil unions may vary from state to state the most important thing about a civil unions they are only recognized in the states in which the partners are registered in. Standard heterosexual nuptials are not only recognized federally they are also recognized internationally. Homosexual marriages are very similar to civil unions which are only recognized in select states, are federally recognized, international recognition depends on the country especially if homosexuality is illegal such as Russia. Although the history of civil unions have a history that goes as back as far about 600 years as describe by Allan Tulchin’s Journal (Tulchin). As for the United States In 1982, the Village Voice newspaper provide its employees in a civil

Gay marriage has been a discussion in the courts for countless decades. It is seen by some as an abomination to the purpose of having marriages and by others as an equal right to the same form of marriage given to any other opposite-sex couples. Voted upon by many in parliamentary, it still has no definitive outcome in the country.

Gay marriage is a civil right. Civil rights protect and give equality to everybody, including gays and lesbians. When a gay marriage defender was asked about the gay marriage issue he said, "It's extremely important that we present this not as a left or a right issue but as a constitutional civil rights issue"(Fuller). Gay marriage is an issue that is decided by courts, not by public opinion. The 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act direct to gay marriage because they both talk about equal protection under the law. Another part of that is in the First Amendment which states that people can't use their religious beliefs against others (The Washington Post). Therefor, gay couples cannot be

Although they currently are not the reality is that marriage benefits should be accessible to all couples. Gay couples are unfairly denied the countless benefits enjoyed by heterosexual couples that are able to marry. For instance, they are not eligible for tax benefits, insurance benefits and are sometimes denied joint ownership of property. Furthermore, Same sex couples are even denied the right to make certain medical decisions with regards to their partner. For example, a gay couple that has been together for 25 years is not allowed to visit their partner in the hospital after visiting hours due to the fact they are not considered family. They each are considered legal strangers. A common belief among opponents of same sex marriage is that businesses would be forced to provide benefits to same sex couples. (Bidstrup, 2004) This is not necessarily the case, and many businesses already voluntarily offer marriage benefits to same sex couples as a matter of good business sense. The businesses that offer these benefits recognize the importance and invaluable support spouses make to their working partners; these companies are generally viewed as progressive and are attractive to investors

In the Article “What’s wrong with Gay Marriage?” by the Katha Pollitt, she is for Gay Marriage and honestly believes there is nothing wrong with it. She does not believe that homosexuals threaten the institution. In the article on page 461, Pollitt states, “Gay marriage is not about sex, it is about separation of church and state. She strongly believes that gay marriage creates happiness. Pollitt is not a fan of marriage because she rather love freely, but she agrees that gay marriage should get the same type of treatment like an ordinary marriage between a man and woman. She sees marriage as an easy way to receive money. Some people look at it as loving one person and growing family.

Forced marriage has been an issue of debate and growing political awareness in the UK, with an estimated 5000-8000 cases reported to relevant organisation in recent years. According to last census, the proportion of unmarried families increased in the number of cohabiting couples. However, there is a fall in the number of married couples in England and Wales. Forced marriage is different from arranged marriage as Munby J stated that: “… while forced marriages were utterly unacceptable, arranged marriages were to be respected and supported…” Forced marriage was forbidden by the Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and the Article 12 of the European Convention of Human Rights in 1950. However, it become a larger

Gays/Lesbians are not allowed to be married, but are allowed to be civilly united, which grants the same rights as marriage. When they grant almost all the same rights as marriage, then it is the same thing as marriage. Although there are some people that think that the U.S. government would be harmed by recognizing any thing that has to do with Gays/Lesbians, there would come no harm from allowing this. There would be no true harm, to the people or the government, that would be caused by allowing Civil Unions to be legally recognized. Those were the points, and that is all that has to be said about this

The argument is much deeper than whether or not they should be married because they live together. If same-sex ( homosexuals ) lovers are paying taxes to build roads and help public schools like the heterosexual lovers, they should be provided the same rights. This is the exact argument the gays and lesbians of Vermont are using. In the Baker v. Vermont court case, “gay and lesbian lovers had argued that they were rejected the protection of more than 300 laws as a result of not being allowed to marry” (Meredith 1). Homosexuals are finally suing the state because they are not receiving protection under the laws of state strictly because they are gay. In fact, the Vermont House of Representatives voted in favor (76-69) of a same-sex ( homosexuals ) civil union bill. This shows that looking at the matter as a legal issue, it is evident that homosexuals are not regarded equally in the eyes of the law, and that the first steps to fix this social injustice are just now being taken; however, the controversy is still obvious as the vote is very close . The Director of Education for the Human Rights campaign state, “It’s a big step in the right direction…while its no full marriage, it’s very close.” same-sex ( homosexuals ) civil unions are clearing the path for nation-wide legal recognition of same-sex ( homosexuals ) relationships. These same-sex ( homosexuals ) civil marriages are demonstrating that the concept of “marriage” and the rights an American deserves, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation, can be simultaneously

treated un-equal to heterosexuals. Same-Sex couples and the LGBT community deserve the same rights as opposite sex couples and heterosexuals.

Same-sex marriage and straight marriage do not have the same rights. Same-sex couples are denied equal access to civil marriage. If same-sex couples enter a civil union they are denied equal access to all the benefits, rights, and privileges provided federal law to married couples. Being denied to all these rights they should have may harm people who also experienced discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, gender, and religion. The APA (American Psychological Association) believes it is unfair to discriminate and deny same-sex couples legal access to civil marriage and all of the benefits, rights and privileges. (Wikipedia)

Same-sex marriage is one of the leading political topics in the United States today. There is an ongoing dispute pertaining to the legalization of same-sex marriages. America has shifted its head to focusing on supporting same-sex marriage or not. Many are for and against this topic but there has been no settlement for it yet. Homosexuals want to marry for the same reason that heterosexuals have and there should be no reason why they are not allowed to. There is some history behind this topic but there has yet to be a solution.