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Same Sex Marriage

Same sex marriage should be given the same status as heterosexual marriage in the United States. The ultimate purpose of marriage is the celebration of emotional bonds and commitment between people. Marriage, whether between same or opposite sex couples, demonstrates the emotional commitment that forms the bonds that give our society structure. Refusing to recognize those bonds sends the message that only certain, traditional forms of emotional commitment benefit society. This paper surveys the history and status of same sex unions in the United States. The paper concludes that same sex marriage should be given the same recognition by federal, state and local governments as that granted to opposite sex marriages. In other words, same sex marriage should not be a constitutional right but, just like opposite sex marriage, neither should it be a constitutional violation.

The Controversy over Defining Marriage

Opposite sex, or heterosexual marriage, is not a constitutional right. No one has a constitutional right to marry another person. In fact, the United States Constitution never mentions the word "marriage." Yet on February 24, 2004, U.S. President George Bush announced that he supported a federal constitutional amendment that would "defin[e] and protect[] marriage as a union of a man and woman as husband and wife." Bush, therefore, supports adding a definition that would limit the application of the Constitution to some Americans, although the very idea of the Constitution is for the protection of those who live in the United States and its territories. President Bush continued by stating that the amendment should protect marriage but permit states to devise other legal unions, if they so desired, for same sex couples. Most notably, however, Bush concluded, "America's a free society which limits the role of government in the lives of our citizens. This commitment of freedom, however, does not require the redefinition of one of...

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Same Sex Marriage. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:45, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1687984.html