Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Same-Sex Marriage

Same-sex marriages are generating enormous controversy, as more states as issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Vermont has been issuing civil unions for gay couples since 2000. Gay marriages, however, have been increasing in states like California, Oregon, and Massachusetts, where the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that ôexcluding gay couples from civil marriage violated the state constitutionö (Rauch 2003, 88). In 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as a union between members of the opposite sex, but left the matter up to states. Recently, President Bush has proposed a constitutional amendment that would prohibit marriage between same-sex individuals. Opponents of the amendment argue that such a ban is tantamount to discrimination. While I believe that same-sex couples should be provided the right to marriage and the federal, state, and local benefits that accrue to traditional married couples, I believe the matter should be decided on a state-by-state nature rather than by the federal government.

Though a number of states recognize gay civil unions, pro-same-sex activists argue that only marriage can ôconfer more than 1,000 federal benefitsö on same-sex couples (Surprisingly 2004, 19). State and local benefits, not to mention work benefits, also exist for traditional married couples that same-sex couples are excluded from. Conservatives continue to push for a federal determination of the issue, one that includes a constitutional amendment prohibiting marriage between same-sex individuals. Liberals continue to push for the recognition of civil unions and even gay marriage, but argue the issue should be decided on a state-by-state basis.

The state-by-state basis of decision-making is the one intended by the founders and is characteristic of the federalism and freedom that prevails in this country. When President Bush announce the constitutional

...

Page 1 of 4 Next >

More on Same-Sex Marriage...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Same-Sex Marriage. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 04:58, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1709636.html