Same Sex Marriages in the United States

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Same Sex Marriages in the United States How do most couples show the world that they are in a loving, devoted, committed relationship? How does one express that they want to spend the rest of their life with one particular person? This is normally done through a marriage, celebrated by a wedding, certified by a marriage license. Homosexuals are human; therefore they are capable of loving another person just as any heterosexual human. Yet, homosexuals are unable to obtain a marriage license. This needs to be changed. Currently in the United States there is much legal and cultural activity surrounding the possibility of the legalization of "gay marriage". As of December 1995, a law case underway in Hawaii may lay the ground for legal recognition of same-sex unions. Such legal moves, as well as the efforts by lesbian and gay couples to be recognized as such, face denunciation from some conservative voices who assert that by nature and divine will only relationships between men and women can be considered "natural". And, to be honest, there is also an unease expressed by some lesbian and gay activists who, recalling the critique of patriarchy made by 1970's feminism, see "marriage" as an irretrievably heterosexual institution. Same-sex marriages should be legal everywhere in the United States of America. According to the Constitution, marriage is a civil right that all Americans are born with. Our country has decided by passing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996 that two people of the same gender cannot get married. By taking away this basic civil right, America has defied what our Founding Fathers based our country one, freedom. Homosexuals are allowed to speak freely, to bear arms, to have privacy, to b... ... middle of paper ... ...worst everyday social problem for the openly gay person on a daily basis. Many people would not hire a gay person based on the thought that he can interrupt office peace or cause many problems and tensions between the people that work there. The way most of our society views sexuality is that anything aside from being heterosexual is wrong. Marriage is both a religious and civil institution, with rich variations among different religions in this country. Civil marriage is state regulated and is independent of religious practice, a distinction that reflects the core American value of the separation of church and state. This distinction also is at the heart of this publication, which provides resources and inspiration for people from communities of faith who wish to support the nationwide struggle to help lesbians and gay men win the freedom to have civil marriages.

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