Gay Marriage
Same sex marriage has been a topic of much debate in recent years. Many believe that same sex marriage should not be allowed, while others assert that homosexuals should have the right to be legally married. The purpose of this discussion is to investigate the historical context, political impact, sociological impact and the psychological and philosophical perspectives of this issue.
Gay Marriage in a historical context
According to Coolidge et al. (2003) marriage provides a legal gateway to many protections and benefits in American society. In fact many of these protections and benefits do not exist outside of becoming legally married (Mcwhirter 2004). These include access to health care and medical decision making for your partner and your children; parenting and immigration rights; inheritance, taxation, Social Security, and other government benefits (Mcwhirter 2004). It is because of these protections and benefits that same sex marriage has become such an explosive issue (Mcwhirter 2004).
Although same sex marriage is not legal in the United States there are some countries that have made it legal. From a historical perspective, Coolidge et al. (2003) reports that in 1991 Demark was actually the first to develop legal gay marriage (Coolidge et al. 2003). The law in Denmark is not" marriage itself but a parallel marital status for same sex couples (Coolidge et al. 2003)." In addition the "Netherlands became the first to dispense with separate and unequal formulas and allow same-sex couples to lawfully wed. Other European nations, and possibly the European Union as a whole, will certainly follow suit in the years to come. Meanwhile, Canada -- which already has recognized same-sex couples' legal entitlement to "all but marriage" -- is also in the midst of a campaign aimed at securing the freedom to marry (Coolidge et al. 2003)."
Coolidge and Duncan (2001) explain that the attempt to legalize gay marriage in the Netherlands grew dramatically throughout the last decade. The attempt to do this was inclusive of a non-discrimination act with a human rights commission, the acceptance of private cohabitation contracts, and then the passage of a full-pledged Registered Partnerships law in 1998 (Coolidge and Duncan 2001). The Registered Partnerships law granted both homosexual and heterosexual couples the capacity to register with the government and have all of the rights available to married couples with the exception the right to adopt children (Coolidge and Duncan 2001). In addition, the Lower Chamber of the Dutch Parliament suggested the full "opening up" of marriage to homosexuals (Coolidge and Duncan 2001). The Legislation to implement gay marriage was introduced in 1998 (Coolidge and Duncan 2001). The authors assert that
"On September 12, 2000, after several days of extended debate, the Second (or Lower) Chamber of the Dutch Parliament approved the "opening-up" bill, as well as a bill to allow for adoption by same-sex couples. The vote was a lopsided 133-109.(45) The First (or Upper) Chamber approved the bills on December 19, 2000 by a 49-26 vote.(46)Under the new law, only one of the two "spouses" is required to be a permanent resident or citizen of the Netherlands.(47) Therefore an American citizen could go to the Netherlands and marry a Dutch citizen anytime on or after April 1, 2001, and then return to seek recognition (Coolidge and Duncan 2001)."
In America, Hawaii and Vermont were the first to pass civil union laws (Coolidge et al. 2003). In addition, Vermont developed a parallel non-marriage marital status for gay couples (Coolidge et al. 2003;West 2004).
Political
The aforementioned legislation that has been developed in Vermont has sparked nationwide debates concerning the legal definition of marriage. As a result some states are currently considering, and others have implemented, legislation attempting to prevent acknowledgment of gay marriages performed in other states (Report on Marriage Rights for Same-Sex Couples 2004). The most notable legislation is the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), enacted by congress in 1996 (Report on Marriage Rights for Same-Sex Couples 2004). This Act allows states that implement such legislation the ability to deny recognition to same-sex marriages that may be legally sanctioned in other states (Report on Marriage Rights for Same-Sex Couples 2004). In addition, in terms of the legality of gay marriage 'The constitutionality of measures denying recognition of same-sex marriage is in doubt, especially in light of the United States Supreme Court's apparent shift in its consideration of gay and lesbian rights. Fifteen years ago, the Court found that a state sodomy statute enforced only against homosexuals violated no constitutionally protected rights. (1) In contrast, in 1996, the Court found that by subjecting one group to a disadvantage...
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