John F. Kennedy once said, “The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” Same sex marriage should be legalized in the United States. The two main reasons for this are the unconstitutionality of denying same sex marriages and the fact that it is going against basic human rights.
First, it is unconstitutional for federal law to ban same sex marriage. In its 2003 Lawrence v. Texas case, the Supreme Court overruled previous sexuality precedents by declaring unconstitutional laws that made homosexual sodomy a crime, holding that although the Constitution says nothing about sex or marriage, there is nonetheless a right to consensual sexual activity between adults that government cannot regulate. This was over the vigorous dissent of conservative justices, who said that the Constitution commits such questions of marriage and morality to the states and the democratic process, and that therefore federal courts have no power to impose their own moral judgments. Despite this realization, homosexual couples have been restricted for decades. The “Defense of Marriage Act” was signed into effect in 1996. This act “amends the Federal judicial code to provide that no state, territory, or possession of the United States or Indian tribe shall be required to give effect to any marriage between persons of the same sex under the laws of any other such jurisdiction or to any right or claim arising from such relationship.” This act also sets into play a federal definition of “marriage” and “spouse”; marriage being defined as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” and spouse being defined as “only a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife”.
Secondly, denying two people the...
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• Garcia, Monique, and Ray Long. "Lawmakers Affirm Gays' Right to Wed." Chicago Tribune. 06 Nov 2013: 1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Dec 2013. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMO0798-0-5763&artno=0000356535&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Same-sex%20marriage&title=Lawmakers%20Affirm%20Gays%27%20Right%20to%20Wed&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N#citation
• SULLIVAN, ANDREW. "The President Of The United States Shifted The Mainstream In One Interview." Newsweek 159.21 (2012): 22. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 18 Dec. 2013 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=516b8c19-b57d-4a85-a76a-8c85973c761a%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=119&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=75292760
Skowornek writes, “these presidents each set out to retrieve from a far distant, even mythic, past fundamental values that they claim had been lost in the indulgences of the received order, In this way, the order-shattering and order-affirming impulses of the presidency in politics became mutually reinforcing.” (Skowornek, 37, book). These presidents are in the best position not because they are exceptional at their job but because the time they came into office offered them the elasticity and authority to make new orders and be welcomed by the public because he is taking the country out of its troubles and challenges.
Abstract On June 26, 2015 a divided Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples could now marry nationwide. At the time of the split ruling there were 9 supreme court justices, 5 of the justices were Republicans, and the remaining 4 were Democrats. In high profile cases it is except that the justices will vote along party lines. When the 5-4 ruling was reveled by the following statement. “It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right (Corn,2015).” written by
For some background, this case escalated to the Supreme Court since several groups of same-sex couples from different states, sued state agencies when their marriage was refused to be recognized. As it escalated through appeals, the plaintiffs argued that the states were violating the Equal Protection clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal Protection, according to the Constitution refers to the fact that, “any State [shall not] deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” (23). The opposition of this case was that, 1) The Constitution does not address same-sex marriage as a policy, and 2) The sovereignty of states regarding the decision. Ultimately, and according to the Oyez project, the Court held that “[the Amendment] guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects, and that analysis applies to same-sex couples,” and therefore, same-sex marriage is a fundamental liberty.
Weinstein, Michael A., Weinstein, Deena. "Hail to the Shrub: Mediating the Presidency." The American Behavioral Scientist 46 (2002): 566-581.
Thursday night the Phillips Center for Performing Arts hosted a very special guest appearance by the Reforms Party presidential candidate Pat Buchanan. In the year of presidential elections the two popular candidates George Bush and Al Gore really don’t lash out on each other, which makes this years debates boring and long. Pat Buchanan is refreshing to the sense he doesn’t care what he says about the other candidates. Pat Buchanan’s history includes serving as an assistant to Richard Nixon, and also to Ronald Regan. An accomplished journalist in his younger career, Pat Buchanan wrote speeches for the Reykjavik summit with Mikhail Gorbachev, and Richard Nixon’s popular speech to the opening of China in 1972.
Nagourney, Adam. "Court Strikes Down Ban on Gay Marriage in California." New York Times. N.p., 7 Feb. 2012. Web.
The ruling of Baehr vs. Lewin was a victory for gay rights activists, hope for other states searching for the same freedom, and disappointment for opponents of same-sex marriage. Yet this victory was short lived (until complete legalization in November 13, 2013) since the state appealed the lower court’s decis...
... if? The legal consequences of marriage and the legal needs of lesbian and gay male couples. Michigan Law review. Nov.1996. Pg. 447-491. http://www.jstor.org.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/stable/1290119?seq=1&uid=3739664&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103079482127
Same-sex marriage inequality is an issue that has been troubling American society since the birth of our country. More recently, the United States Supreme Court has tackled some frequently raised arguments that deal with same-sex marriage and our constitutional rights. In the case US vs. Windsor, the legal question: “Does the Defense of Marriage Act [...] deprive same-sex couples who are legally married under state laws of their Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection under federal law?” The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines the term “marriage” under federal law as a “legal union between one man and one woman”. The ultimate ruling of the case US v. Windsor declared that Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. The social and economic effects of the decision was not universal in effect, and unfortunately, since states retain power to allow or deny same-sex marriages, over nine-million Americans are still being stripped of their rights.
Aside from the technicalities of the laws in which each state has set, same sex marriage has been in debate for many years. Not allowing same sex rights as heterosexuals have is absolutely a violation of the fourteenth amendment and probably a few more down the line definitely violate The Defense of Marriage Act. Furthermore it is a bigger violation on the moral side. Since it has taken this many years to enact some laws, the years prior were denied because of morality not legality.
I was about 7 years old when I was exposed to same sex couples. I had two really close friends in elementary school who has same sex parents, one of my friend’s name was Devin she had two dads and my other friend’s name was Tessa, she had two moms. When I would come over for playdates I always wondered why Devin didn’t have a mom and why Tessa didn’t have a dad, and thats when they told me their parents were homosexuals. At the age of 7 I didn’t understand what that meant until one day at school when Tessa was getting bullied because she had two moms and one of her moms came to father daughter day. I began hearing the words “gay” and “fags” I didn’t understand what was so bad about the situation. Tessa simply didn’t have a father so her mother stepped in so she wouldn’t feel lonely. I asked my teacher, “what was so different about Tessa’s life?” and she explained to me that there are some people that prefer to take interest and love people of the same sex and her moms happen to be one those people. Although they aren’t the traditional heterosexual couple, they aren’t any less human than heterosexual couples. As the year went on and I was exposed to more same sex couples I realized that the only differences between hertrosexual couples and homosexual couples is that many hertrosexual couples I knew were married, and none of the homosexual couples I knew were.
"List of Pros and Cons of Gay Marriage." Occupytheory. N.p., 22 Dec. 2014. Web. 18 May
Bayles, Fred, and Andrea Stone. “Gay-marriages foes try to stop ‘activist courts.’” USA Today 25 Feb. 2004: 06a.
On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry. Should gay marriages be legal? Clearly we as a nation are undecided on this issue. Thirty-six states have passed legislation banning gay marriages, yet a few states have passed laws that allows homosexual couples the right to participate in civil unions. Several other states are also debating whether or not to allow these couples to marry. Unfortunately, the dispute has left the United States' homosexual community in an awkward position. There are some people who think that gay people have no rights and should never be allowed to marry, and others believe that gay people should enjoy the same rights and privileges as heterosexuals. I think that the United States should allow same-sex couples to marry just like heterosexual couples.
On The Other Hand same sex marriage should be legalized because it is uncivilized and unmerited. Our civil rights and The Constitution give us many liberties. One of over civil liberties is the pursuit of happiness, which homosexual people are not allowed to follow. Homosexual cannot be married to the person they loved, which violates their freed...