Same Sex Marriage Free Essays

Same sex marriage is an issue that arises concerns with a lot of people. Some agree, some disagree, and some Just really don’t care. I fall under two categories. We will write a custom essay sample on Same Sex Marriage or any similar topic only for you Order Now I disagree, but I really don’t care. The reasons being are I stick with God’s words. He made Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve or Eve and Ava. God also said Judge not for you’ll be Judged. I’m not perfect or anywhere near it, so I definitely don’t want to be judged. I was going to write on child hunger, but since I have to deal with this in my life now I decided to provide a written document about this subject. One of my family members is involved in a same sex relationship for the past three years. Although I don’t agree I still have love for them. Just recently, theyVe decided that they want to be married. That arises and issue with me because although I don’t Judge them; I definitely won’t be apart of the wedding and celebration. I couldn’t see myself condoning a marriage with the vows of God for a couple of the same sex. I do have standards and I do know how to take a stand. I tried to broaden my thoughts and think about it for a moment, but it still wasn’t working for me. So, I decided to do a little research and see what’s really going on ith the same sex marriages. As I began to obtain information I was stunned about a lot of things. The facts I found out were surprising to me. I learned that the movement to open civil marriage to same-sex couples achieved its first temporary success in 1993 with the decision of the Hawaii Supreme Court that the restriction of marriage to opposite- sex couples would be presumed unconstitutional unless the state could demonstrate that it furthered a compelling state interest. In response to this decision the state constitution was amended to allow the legislature to preserve that restriction. A similar court decision in Alaska in 1998 led to an even stronger constitutional amendment, itself defining marriage as between one man and one woman. In further reaction to the Hawaii case, the federal Defense of Marriage Act 1996 provided that no state would be required to recognize a same-sex marriage from another state, and also defined marriage for federal-law purposes as opposite-sex. The majority of the states also passed their own â€Å"marriage protection acts. In November 2004, eleven more U. S. states amended their constitutions to prohibit same-sex marriage. In Vermont, after that state’s Supreme Court held in 1999 that the state must extend to same- sex couples the same benefits that married couples receive, the legislature in 2000 created the status of â€Å"civil union† to fulfill that mandate. Connecticut adopted a similar civil union law in 2005. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to open civil marriage to same- sex couples. Belgium became the second in 2003. In 2002 through 2004, courts in six Canadian provinces held that the opposite-sex definition of marriage was contrary to Canada’s Charter of Rights, and in 2005 federal legislation extended same-sex arriage to all of Canada. Same-sex marriage was also legalized in Spain in 2005 , in South Africa in 2006, and in Norway effective in 2009. In November 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that excluding same-sex couples from the benefits of civil marriage violated the state constitution, and in February 2004 2004 Massachusetts became the first state in the United States where same-sex marriage per se is legal. In October 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that same-sex couples were entitled to the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the ivil marriage statutes. The Legislature complied with that decision by enacting a civil union act in December 2006. In May 2008, California became the second state to legalize same-sex marriage when the California Supreme Court held that laws restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples were unconstitutional. Connecticut followed suit in October 2008. In California, the Supreme Court decision was apparently overturned by voter initiative in the November 2008 election. Paul Axel- Lute, â€Å"Same-Sex Marriage† (Rutgers-Newark Law Library, Pathfinder Series, Oct. 1996), http://www-rci. utgers. edu/†axellute/ssm. htm, lists articles, statutes, and cases through 1996. ) These things still did not convince me of anything and I decided I still needed more. I wanted to know why did these people of the same sex wanted to get married when it was causing so much controversy and most of the world don’t with it. I Just couldn’t understand so I went to the library and got a book by the author of William Eskeridge called, Gay Marriage, For Better or For Worse. That title really rocked me because that was the same thing that I was wondering. Is it for the better or for the worse. In his text he stated that the same-sex marriage debate to take account of the new argument against same-sex marriage, to wit: same-sex marriage in Scandinavia has destroyed the institution in those countries, and left children to be raised without married parents. That alone scares me because I was raised with two parents. (Eskridge, William N. , Gay Marriage: For Better or For Worse? What We’ve Learned from the Evidence. (Oxford Univ. Press, 2006) If marriage between gays becomes the law of the land, married gay couples will be afforded all the legal benefits that apply to heterosexual married couples, including pousal rights to Social Security, Medicare, private pensions, the right to file Joint tax returns, and the right to inherit each other’s property. Many gays say it’s about time. Others say that allowing gays to wed is wrong and will be harmful. When you ask about the good of marriage, we used to understand that the good of the thing was implied in its nature and its end. And marriage has to be connected and we’ll have a chance to pursue this, but marriage has to be connected to that sense of sexuality imprinted in our natures, in the ineffaceable fact that we are born men or women. The purpose or meaning implicit in that sexuality is the notion of begetting, and for compelling reasons, we’ve found the prospect of begetting finding its most apt reflection in a framework of lawfulness that provides the ground on which parents are committed to the nurturance of their children for the same that they are committed to one another. When children are involved it makes it even more hectic. The children are being taught wrong and that I definitely don’t agree with. The more I try to come to terms with this issue I Just can’t seem to find enough of vidence that secures my thoughts and heart to condone this kind of thing. I know some people with disagree with me, but we agree to disagree. As time progresses I do indeed believe that eventually their will be more states and same sex laws that I entitled to my opinion. I Just pray for the children and their well-being. Although some only think of themselves they should take a stand back and think of their children. Children are our nest generation and raising them to think things are okay when theyre really wrong scares me to death. Let’s Just hope that the kids will make better choices than others. Same sex marriage hasn’t yet affected my life, but as time goes on I do think it will be a part of my life. How to cite Same Sex Marriage, Papers Same Sex Marriage Free Essays Same-sex marriage is a term used for a social or legally recognized marriage amid two people of the same gender. Freeman, M. D. We will write a custom essay sample on Same Sex Marriage or any similar topic only for you Order Now A (1999). The most commonly term used in politics and media is Gay marriage. Some crusaders of the same-sex marriage use the name equal- marriage to emphasis that they are looking for equality and not special rights when it comes to marriage between people of the same sex. There are those people who argue that equating opposite-sex marriage and same-sex marriage will change the entire meaning of marriage and its general traditions (Hull, K. 2006). Moreover they often use the term Homosexual marriage which is regarded to be more stigmatizing than the term gay. There are those people who suggest that the term marriage should be reserved for civil, religious and legal contexts using a standardized concept of civil companionship. This kind of arrangement will reinforce the wall of division between the state and the church by putting a holly institution entirely to the church while placing secular organization under the control of the state. Some opponents and proponents of the same sex-marriage find suggestions of that sort to be unworkable. Whereas there are instances of some societies who recognize same-sex marriages, historical records shows a remarkable diversity of the treatment given to same-sex marriages which range from toleration and sympathy to indifferences and prohibition. Some organizations that are opposed to same-sex marriage often ague that same-sex unions are not marriages (Hull, K. 2006). They also argue that legalizing same-sex marriage will encourage legalization of polygamy and that legalizing same-sex marriage will deny children either a father or a mother while at the same time eroding religious freedoms. A research by American Anthropological Association states no proof has been found to show that people need to maintain marriage between people of the opposite sex and that same-sex marriage can make a greater contribution in stabilizing human societies. To add on, there are crusaders of the same-sex marriage who argue that governments should not play any part in regulating individual relationships. While there are those who insist that by allowing same-sex marriages the governments will be promoting collective benefits to same-sex partners. As stated by Sean Robert Cahill, Sean Cahill (2004) the debate surrounding same-sex marriage includes debate based on different social viewpoints and debate based upon religious convictions, health-related concerns, economic arguments and a variety of other different issues. We can say that the issue of same-sex marriage was meant to be ever since the creation of the universe and people should try and accept it as it is. We should also try and note that we are a people of one race and those we all hold female and male traits inside us, period. There are those people who are reverse-wired than other people and those who are androgynous. This is factual whether it is left-handedness or right-handedness or someone being right brained or left brained, et cetera. It is true that Love through understanding and tolerance is a most important factor to spiritual growth†¦. or else we stumble in fear-based thinking, selfishness and pure and absolute hate (prejudice) against our fellow women and men. How to cite Same Sex Marriage, Papers Same Sex Marriage Free Essays This semester we have analyzed the issue ‘same sex marriage’ by three different articles and we were asked to select one of them to examine one more time with merging our own opinions. In his piece â€Å"What Are We Fighting For? † author, Ralph Wedgwood focuses on the issue that general view of people all around, about the acceptance of legalized gay marriages. By legalized Ralph Wedgwood does not only bringing up the legal aspects that homosexual couples will get when they get married but also the acceptence of their being in the society. We will write a custom essay sample on Same Sex Marriage or any similar topic only for you Order Now Unless couples get married, their relationships will not be taking seriously by their community. To show how committed they are to each other, they need a legal approval by the laws of the government so that these couples could buy houses and share their health insurance near by respect and acceptence. This situation makes us thinks that Ralph Wedgwood (2003) examination over general view on people’s head ‘‘marriage involves a serious mutual commitment to long-term economic and domestic partnership’’ is true (p. 374).He also stands contradictory with the State’ s attitude over using religion and moral values holding against homosexual unions. From my perspective, there is nothing to stand contradictory with Ralph Wedgwood’ s arguments about same sex marriage. The heterosexual unions who think they are superior than homosexual unions and have the power to control them should be examine their thought and movement before they act against them. They are the ones who idetify ‘‘what marriage is? ’’ in general minds also they are the ones who is mistaken by looking at marriage as a contract with benefits.If they could benefit from the form they create, why do homosexuals want to get the same oportunities, they got banned? Proving the relationship between two human being, the intimacy of that relationship can not be someting written and signed after. Religion and moral values can not be written as well. How could communities use them to justify their opinons and actions? Ralph Wedgwood is right about mentioning child-abusers and rapist’s right to get married even if they are in jail. No on e ever stands against this and louders their voices. Getting married should not be something that is written with laws which are contains heterosexual crimanals and excludes people are having the same saxe who are in love. If they want to use religion they should look back from this perspective as well. Why does homosexuality is the only ‘sin’ that they could focus is this issue. Isn’t moral values and culture what every commuinty creates by their own belief and tradition? Looking back and self-criticism have always been an issue for the communities. They live what formed for them which is the easy way.When a couple who has been in a relationship for 4 years, they will waited to get married soon from their own society because it is what they learned – which is hard to change. Who needs changed opinion? Who has that time to spend for others? It is what thought to them and it must be true. Is there any chance for some one to fight for another?Wedgwood, R. (2010). What Are We Fighting For? . In A. N. Eken,B. Rodrigues, H. G. Atabas, J. Harris, M. Guceri, M. L. Bilgic, S. Tackamp;Z. I. Onel, Contemporary issues in focus (pp. 273-276). Harlow: Pearson Custom Publishing. How to cite Same Sex Marriage, Papers Same Sex Marriage Free Essays Marriage is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. It is also considered a sacred ceremony between a man and woman. Catholic Church says that it should be just for man and woman. We will write a custom essay sample on Same Sex Marriage or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is the proof of their long lasting relationship that couldn’t separate by anyone else. Nowadays, same sex marriage is implemented in other country. Same sex marriage is known as a marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or gender. It is one of the most controversial yet sensitive topics that have been discuss around the world. Politicians are having debates on this subject trying to decide whether it should be legal for same sexes to be married. Same sex marriage is often viewed as being wrong by religious people because marriage is portrayed as a woman and man uniting not woman to woman or man to man. Here in the Philippines, Political parties such as the Gabriela Women’s Partylist are actively lobbying and advocating for lesbian and gay rights and to insist that society not discriminate on the basis of sexual preference. Unlike in the Philippines there are few countries who are now supporting and allowing same sex marriage including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden. For me, same sex marriage should implement here in our country because of many reasons. First, is to exercise the freedom of choice. Every people have a right to choose what religion they will be, what school they will study and other rights since we were born. So as a person, they also have the right to choose who they want to marry with even he/her is a bisexual. Second is to control population. We cannot deny the fact that we are over populated. Unlike the other countries, we do not have any rule to control population. Even pills, condom and etc are allowed to use, we can’t still assure that everyone will use it. Third, is to adopt children from orphanage. Since they cannot have their biological son/daughter, they need to adopt. Those children who do not have their own family will can get the opportunity to be loved and feel the loved what a complete family have. Lastly, is to practice human rights. You’re a person no matter what. To get married is your right as a person. Bisexual or not, you have the right to make a decision for yourself. There are many more positive reasons why same sex marriage should be considered as legal. As Eper Herher said, â€Å"Bisexual or not, we are all human. And we are born to be true and not to perfect. † How to cite Same Sex Marriage, Papers Same Sex Marriage Free Essays In Why Fear Same-Sex Marriages by William Raspberry, the author begins by presenting the side of Gary Bauer, who is against same-sex marriage. He agrees with Bauer that legalizing it will change 4,000 years of Judeo-Christian teaching, however, the greater question is whether it â€Å"launches us on the path to perdition or merely heralds the shedding of another irrational prejudice† (Raspberry, 2001). Raspberry supports same sex marriage so long as these are directed towards forming monogamous and committed unions. We will write a custom essay sample on Same Sex Marriage or any similar topic only for you Order Now It’s the Final Step in Killing Marriage by Maggie Gallagher points out that it’s not wrong to disagree with same-sex marriages. This is in defense of Rev. Fauntroy who is a civil-rights legend but is against same-sex marriages. The author highlights what the gay movement has done as â€Å"harassment tactics, demonizing those who disagree† (Gallagher, 2001). Gallagher ends the essay with a statement on how these ‘tactics’ have even reached her personal email. Committed Couples Would Stabilize Society by Andrew Sullivan supports same-sex marriages. Sullivan points out that based on research during the first six years when gay marriage was made legal, â€Å"the rate of straight marriages rose 10 percent, and the rate of straight divorces decreased by 12 percent† (Sullivan, 2001). Sullivan believes that these types of marriages will strengthen the bonds of heterosexual marriage since ‘marriage’ finally encompasses all citizens. Personally, I would agree that same-sex marriage should be legalized. But it should be kept in mind that marriage is holy, and that the couples should truly be committed to their union. This goes true for gay as well as heterosexual marriage. With the high divorce rates today, I believe this should be the greater concern for society. The focus should be on strengthening marriages, not preventing or discriminating people from entering into marriage. I agree that legalizing gay marriage would â€Å"heal the psychic wounds that scar so many gay people and their families† (Sullivan, 2001). How to cite Same Sex Marriage, Papers Same Sex Marriage Free Essays Same-sex Marriage Same-sex marriage is something that many people have a strong opinion about. From the essay â€Å"What’s Wrong with Gay Marriage? † by Katha Pollitt, she states, â€Å"Gay marriage-it’s not about sex, its about the separation of church and state. † (572) In the very beginning of this essay though, Pollitt asks, â€Å"Will someone please explain to me how permitting gays and lesbians to marry threatens the institution of marriage? † (570) This concludes that Katha Pollitt obviously has the mind-set that same-sex marriage is acceptable and should be allowed, she does not see a problem with it. We will write a custom essay sample on Same Sex Marriage or any similar topic only for you Order Now Reading this essay, there are points that are important to understand. One being, that there are more often than not, people that are only getting married because there is a baby on the way or they have already had a child. (Pollitt 571) This being said, getting married is simply too easy for its own good. â€Å"An eighty year old can marry an eighteen year old; a john can marry a prostitute; two terminally ill patients can marry each other from their hospital beds. † (Pollitt 572) This essay also states that the marriage of a man and women is â€Å"sacred†, and opening it to same-sex violates its sacral nature. Pollitt 572) This point right here is unacceptable in the eyes of many. One might even go into protest over such a statement. Marriage is wholly owned by the state, not wholly owned by religion. It is 1 Katz simply a separation of the church and the state. (Pollitt 572) Clearly Pollitt has a little something to say about same-sex marriage, stated in her very fir st sentence, â€Å"Will someone please explain to me how permitting gays and lesbians to marry threatens the institution of marriage? † (570) Gay â€Å"Marriage†: Societal Suicide† by Charles Colson believes that marriage is not a private institution designed solely for the individual gratification of its participants. (578) The outlook on this essay is a little bit different than that of â€Å"What’s Wrong with Gay Marriage? † Colson believes that children from broken homes are more likely to drop out of school, act up in school and have more social problems. (577) â€Å"Boys who grew up without fathers are at least twice as likely as other boys to end up in prison. Sixty percent of rapists and 72% of adolescent murderers never knew or lived with their fathers†¦Girls raised without a father in the home are five times more likely to become mothers while still adolescences. † (Colson 577) This is basically saying that it is more than likely for a child to grow up with psychological problems if they are missing their father figure in their lives than people raised with both parents present. â€Å"The family, led by a married mother and father, is the best available stricter for both child rearing and cultural health. (Colson 578) Colson truly believes that same-sex marriage cannot be done simply because of the fact that the children are not put into perspective in that situation. There have been situations where one divorces their spouse only to find out it is because they would rather a same-sex marriage. In this case, they may have already had children that grew up just fine. One may argue that the divorce of a children’s paren ts will have 2 Katz long term effects on them no matter what time in their life it happens, but Colson’s essay reassures that he believes otherwise. These two essays by Pollitt and Colson are very similar, first off simply because they are about same-sex marriage. Pollitt has a type of view that anybody can be married to each other with little effort put in. After Pollitt says that about it being too easy to get married she says that marriage between a man and woman is sacred and that means that if you are putting together two people of the same sex, it ruins the sacred factor. (Pollitt) On the other hand, there is Colson and he writes about how families cannot be built with out two people of opposite sexes. Colson is completely for how people of the same sex should not get married. Having read both of the essays, one by Pollitt and the other Colson, there is definitely room for people’s opinions to sway, although they are not asking for that, rather just to get their opinions out there. Both of these authors have points that are against same-sex marriage, and they both have little reasons to be for it as well. (Pollitt/Colson) Now, there is nothing wrong with same-sex marriage, it is just the beliefs of the church or the state. Agreeing with it is all up to whomever decides. The church would only not allow same-sex marriage if it is in that specific religion, but most religions it is not allowed to leave a family member out in the cold like that. The state has no other reason, other than trying to defend them selves in the fact that same-sex marriage should be allowed under all circumstances. There are people out there that have not even come out yet to their own families yet and some families are not open to this kind of news. People have been disowned from their own families in the past and there is a good chance 3 Katz it will happen in the future as well. There definitely is a big portion of issues that come from the church and the state but when it comes down to it, same-sex marriage is between the two people involved. The statistics for the boys and girls growing up without a father are not believable, simply because some of the smartest, hard working kids around have only one parent and it usually is the mother. There is no â€Å"right way† to have a marriage but some may think so. Having a same-sex marriage is nothing unusual now a days but it will forever be an issue to many. Knowing what Pollitt and Colson think now, opinions can be formed on their own. Those are just two options that people have the choice to believe, it’s all up to them. Considering that Pollitt and Colson have extremely strong opinions there is room to create another. A big concern for same-sex marriage is how the people going through it feel. Nothing would feel right if there was a rule against something someone could be so passionate about. That’s like giving up a true love over some rule that a state or church made up. The church or state cannot have anything to say if one lives with someone of the same sex, yet getting married is a whole different story. Getting married is just the icing on the cake for most same sex marriages, people don’t just get married out of nowhere, obviously there will be a real reason. This being said, Colson and Pollitt have accurate opinions, but in the end the real reason people cannot be happy together as a same-sex marriage is because of the state and the church not allowing it. It should be between the two people involved, but everyone else in the world cannot help but get in the way of that. There are more people that are all for same-sex marriage than there are opposed, but it is always that one person Katz that stands out and says what they believe and this is what makes it a hassle for everybody. It would be interesting to know what the statistics are for how many people oppose this opinion rather than the statistics for how many children grow up as bad kids because of same-sex marriage, or what could happen if you do not grow up with a mother and father figure raising you. With children in concern, consider this, most same-sex marriages that do not already have children, will be the couple’s that adopt children. There are far too many children in the world that need a new home and this is the perfect opportunity for them, no matter if they do not have a mother/father figure in the picture because anything is better than growing up homeless. This fact may not benefit others, but it is not hurting anybody either. 5 Katz Work Cited Pollitt, Katha. â€Å"What’s Wrong With Gay Marriage. † Bedford Reader. 11th ed. Boston/ New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 1-728. Print. Colson, Charles. â€Å"Gay â€Å"Marriage†: Societal Suicide. † (n. d. ): n. pag. Rpt. in The Bedford Reader. 11th ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 1-726. Print. 6 How to cite Same Sex Marriage, Essay examples