Essay On Marriage Inequality

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Fewer social issues cause more heated debate both politically and personally than the issue of same-sex marriage. When presented with the term “marriage equality”, most Americans would probably associate it with same-sex marriage. But homosexual couples have not been the only demographic to experience inequality in America when it comes to marriage. In early agrarian societies, women were the face of marriage inequality. They were considered a possession like land or cattle or anything else. Fast forward to 1960’s America when the American Civil rights movement was at its height. With the exception of those who lived it, few would remember that it was only in recent decades that interracial marriage was legalized in the United States. Will history repeat itself? Will future generations of Americans ever remember a time when same sex couples were not allowed to marry? This paper will attempt to explore the history of marriage inequality in America as well as highlight the issues that are being debated and voted on in present day elections.

Background
Marriage is by no stretch of the imagination a static institution. It is dynamic, which is to say that is always changing or evolving. The idea of marrying for romantic love is a relatively new phenomenon, or at least the resurgence of an ancient one. Anthropologists tell us that the earliest form of civilization, hunter-gatherer societies, seemed to have married for love much like western societies do today (Fisher, 2004). However, this practice did not last long. With the accumulation of wealth and possessions came the need to secure and control those assets. Therefore marriage became an economic consideration in agrarian societies. It was an arranged i...

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...me would argue that to legalize gay marriage would fundamentally change the American family, but haven’t we already done that? At one time the American family precluded interracial couples, but no more. Now the American family, at least according to federal law, precludes same-sex couples. America ended up on the right side of history last time. Will it again? I firmly believe that the next President of the United States will be faced with this decision. I hope that president remembers that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution outlines equal protection under the law for all citizens. Thomas Jefferson put it best in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

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