Free Essays on Gay Marriage

On television last night, Rosie O’Donnell, the popular comedian and former talk show host was talking about her recent marriage to another woman. The pair had traveled to San Francisco, CA where the mayor, Gavin Newsom had legalized same sex marriages, and got married in a city court. A few days later the court was ordered to stop issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples by the United States government. The subject of same sex marriage is a very controversial topic in the United States. Same sex marriage has be legalized in some states and banned in others. It is a topic that has passionate supporters and as passionate protesters. This topic is so controversial that the Senate voted July 14, 2004 to block the White House-backed Federal Marriage. The vote was 48-50, 12 short of the 60 needed to keep the measure alive. Six Republicans joined dozens of Democrats in dissent. Dissenters claimed that the regulation of marriage should be left to the states (Resources, 2004). The defeat of the Federal Marriage Amendment was a huge victory for gay rights advocates that assert that marriage is a right, which should not be limited to opposite-sex, couples. In the United States, activists of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples point out that there are over 1000 federal rights and benefits denied same-sex couples by excluding them from participating in marriage. A legal denial of rights or benefits afforded to others, they say, directly contradicts the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which provides for equal protection and substantive due process under the law, meaning that rights conferred to one group cannot be denied to another (Resources, 2004). In the 2003 case before the Supreme Court titled Lawrence v. Texas, the court held that intimate consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected by substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment (Bidstrup, 2004). Many proponents of same-sex marriage hav... Free Essays on Gay Marriage Free Essays on Gay Marriage Would legalization of gay marriage be good for the gay community?† Sam Isaacson wrote an article analyzing the opinion of the gay community on legalizing same sex marriages. It is somewhat of a controversial issue with the gay community whether or not marriage is a good thing. He divides the community into two groups: integrationists and liberationists. The controversy is caused because of these two different philosophical views. The integrationists want to be as normal as can be. They want to â€Å"integrate† themselves into society. On the other hand, the liberationists cherish their gay culture with their own customs and values. The integrationists want gay marriage and the liberationists object to same sex marriage. Isaacson’s belief is to consider the objections of the liberationists. However, he believes that legalization of marriage would benefit gays and society. The liberationists do not care for being part of the â€Å"normal† society. They believ e marriage would take away from their way of living and would show that marriage is the right way to live. Isaacson states, â€Å"We not only abandon the sexual minorities of our community, we strengthen society’s narrow notion of what is â€Å"normal† and thereby further confine both straights and gays.† Liberationists do not want to lose the unique characteristics of gay culture. Some gay writers have said, â€Å"Gays have been forced to create different forms of relationships that often allow for a greater and often more fulfilling range of life experiences.† Gays are more likely to stay friends with their ex-girlfriends/boyfriends and they form very close relationships without becoming romantically involved. The communication in their relationships is better than most straight couples. The liberationists think that marriage â€Å"limits and normalizes personal freedom. They do not want to be faced with the social pressures of marriage and their cultu re is forgotten. Isaacson agrees ... Free Essays on Gay Marriage The American Family; Redefined Currently, the United States military is engaged in a war with the country of Iraq. As stated by United Stated president George W. Bush, the primary purpose of this war is to liberate the citizens of Iraq. With this liberation according to, Bush, the U.S. hopes to provide and form this nation into a democratic one, in which individuals are privileged with the freedoms of choice and equal rights. The irony and subsequent resulting scrutiny by anti-war groups stems from the fact that such liberties do not apply to certain individuals, right here in America. Among those deprived individuals are homosexual couples who desire to start a family. Presently in America it is extremely difficult for gay and lesbian couples to marry or have children, either through surrogate mother means, arranged natural means or even adoption. Thus, their equal and civil rights are stripped and so-called equality made non-existent. The Constitution declares that we are a nation that takes pride in liber ty and justice for all, not just the fortunate few. For this reason, homosexuals in all the states of the United States should be able to get married and freely become parents. They should have the same rights that are afforded to what the Constitution mandated: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. In order for this change to come about, the socially constructed definitions of the words ‘marriage’ and ‘family’ need not only be redefined but reestablished and readily understood by the masses. Currently marriage is defined as a contract between woman and man (Badian 364). Further, in most spectrums of society a family is cons... Free Essays on Gay Marriage On television last night, Rosie O’Donnell, the popular comedian and former talk show host was talking about her recent marriage to another woman. The pair had traveled to San Francisco, CA where the mayor, Gavin Newsom had legalized same sex marriages, and got married in a city court. A few days later the court was ordered to stop issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples by the United States government. The subject of same sex marriage is a very controversial topic in the United States. Same sex marriage has be legalized in some states and banned in others. It is a topic that has passionate supporters and as passionate protesters. This topic is so controversial that the Senate voted July 14, 2004 to block the White House-backed Federal Marriage. The vote was 48-50, 12 short of the 60 needed to keep the measure alive. Six Republicans joined dozens of Democrats in dissent. Dissenters claimed that the regulation of marriage should be left to the states (Resources, 2004). The defeat of the Federal Marriage Amendment was a huge victory for gay rights advocates that assert that marriage is a right, which should not be limited to opposite-sex, couples. In the United States, activists of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples point out that there are over 1000 federal rights and benefits denied same-sex couples by excluding them from participating in marriage. A legal denial of rights or benefits afforded to others, they say, directly contradicts the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which provides for equal protection and substantive due process under the law, meaning that rights conferred to one group cannot be denied to another (Resources, 2004). In the 2003 case before the Supreme Court titled Lawrence v. Texas, the court held that intimate consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected by substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment (Bidstrup, 2004). Many proponents of same-sex marriage hav... Free Essays on Gay Marriage Recently, the local radio station has been airing some commercials to get people thinking. These commercials are of an African-American man in modern day society who is unequally separated from white people. In one commercial he is told to sit at the back of an airplane, in another he is told to use a separate facility for colored people at his work. By the end of the commercials the question is asked â€Å"what would today be like if Martin Luther King never had a dream?† These commercials are played so that we can see what positive change has been made. We look back on how we treated people and we are disgusted with our own behavior yet putting a ban on same sex marriages is the same concept. Not allowing gay or lesbian couples to marry is an example of modern day suffrage in the gay community. Homosexuals have the right to speak freely, bear arms, and have privacy yet under law they are separated from the general population because they do not have the right to wed and be family. Twenty years from now society will look back and ask themselves what authority did we have to grant rights on the basis of preference. It is unconstitutional, here in America, to disperse rights on the basis of gender. This ban on same sex marriages has defied what our founding fathers based this country on. Further more, this ban will not hold up due to the full faith and credit law. In a nutshell it says that if a marriages is valid in one state, then its valid in the remaining forty nine states. This law is in effect because currently there are thirteen states that allow Same sex marriages. Homosexuals are often viewed as Unclean, Obsessed with sex, and having STDs. People often view them in that perspective because the relation shipside is hard to see. If a couple is not married but still being intimate it is more likely they will be seen as â€Å"lovers† rather than a â€Å"loving couple†. Same sex couples are also looked at as ... Free Essays on Gay Marriage Should homosexual marriages be legally recognized? On June 10, 2003, the first same-sex marriage ceremony in North America took place in Ontario, Canada. This was a huge step for homosexual equality and unity, but according to the Christian/political right, it creates a dwindling grip on the importance of a heterosexual relationship. Marriage is a union unlike any other in the history of our world, and homosexuality is one of the most troublesome issues today. Therefore, the two intertwined create an uproar concerning America’s advancement to same-sex legalization. The controversy surrounding homosexual marriage includes many common misconceptions concerning one’s rite to marriage. The public’s main arguments in opposition concerning legalization: destroying the significance of a marriage’s unique institution and procreation, the anti-religious foundation gay marriages exemplify, and the public’s views of homosexuality to be Sodomy. Legalization is undoubtedly worried, scared and/or angry that per mission could ruin our country. This country will be able to one day, over come its fears and adjust to this very unique change. Before the argument of gay marriage is discussed, one cannot elude from the public’s judgment of marriage and homosexuality. Andrew Sullivan, respected scholar, states in Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con that, â€Å"Marriage is alternately praised and derided as a lynchpin of a procreation, love, power, economics, convenience, morality and civil rights. Homosexuality generally evokes opposing judgments: It is seen as a perversion; a source of identity, love, and desire; a freely chosen lifestyle, a fabricated personality, a revolution against the status quo† (Sullivan xix). Homosexuals are aware of the long-standing argument against same-sex marriage. Many heterosexuals believe that â€Å"a partnership between two people of the same gender is not the same, and certainly not equal, to a state sanction...