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... s unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to homosexuals (Victory 1). In response to the ruling, the Vermont state government enacted a law permitting civil unions of gay couples to be performed. Civil unions give exactly the same privileges to homosexual couples as are afforded their heterosexual counterparts. Homosexual citizens in the state of Vermont are now permitted to join in civil unions if they choose to do so. These couples were then given the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts.
Gay couples from other states are also permitted to have their civil unions performed in Vermont. The problems with these couples is that they will not have the same rights in another state as they do in Vermont. These couples will also be looked at differently in other states, whereas if they remained in Vermont, things might be easier for them. Other states have recently faced problems with bills involving gay marriage. Hawaii has recently passed a law banning gay marriages.
The court came to an almost unanimous decision on November 4, 1998. This decision ended a dispute in Hawaii from the homosexual community that has been ongoing for the past 15 years (Paul 1). California was in the process of having a "Process of Marriage" initiative for their 2000 election. If this bill were approved, the measure would clarify that only male-female marriage is valid in California (Paul 3). New York has also recently passed a bill banning homosexual civil unions. These types of bills are unconstitutional by definition, yet our government keeps allowing states to pass them.
It is unclear how other states will treat civil unions in the future. Gay rights activist Beatrice Dohrn said, "We hope many states will follow Vermont's lead by recognizing these civil unions and establishing their own civil union laws. Even the more than 30 states which have discriminatory marriage laws are not exempt from recognizing either the civil unions or the spouse's familiar relationships" (Vermont Civil Unions 2). Ms. Dohrn is referring to the U. S.
Constitution's full faith and credit clause that requires states to honor the laws of other states. Legal scholars predict that due to the passing of the civil unions law in Vermont, eventually all states will have to recognize civil unions, although it may be years from now due to the appeal process of our government (Same Sex 1). Marriage is first and foremost a union between two people who love each other. Raising children is not necessarily a stipulation of marriage. Although many couples do marry with the intent to start a family, it is obvious that rearing children is not a priority for some couples. Examples of this type of family would include those who marry at an elderly age.
Couples who are sexually infertile can also be included in this group. The argument that gay marriages should be illegal because they do not contribute to the procreation of the species is invalid because we permit the elderly and the sexually infertile to marry knowing that they will not be able to produce children. Today's society would be seriously outraged if marriages between these people were outlawed. How can we apply the procreation issue as an argument against gay marriages and then completely ignore it for non-childbearing heterosexual marriages?
These homosexual couples could also adopt a child since they could not produce one. Just because it is not their own child does not mean that they cannot have a happy, loving family. Allowing these homosexual couples to marry and adopt would assist in reducing the number of children who don't have parents. It would also give these children a better chance to make something of themselves having parents and being out in the world instead of being raised in a orphanage.
Some people would say that these children would have a very hard time being raised by two homosexual parents. It is better for these children to have homosexual parents than no parents to take care of them at all. The argument that homosexual people should not be allowed because it is their choice to be gay is another argument you hear. Whether they choose to be gay or not, this does not give state government the right to prevent these people from getting married. People make different choices every day that maybe some groups of individuals would find wrong or offensive, yet these choices are not seen as sinful as being a homosexual. Many people would also have religious problems with having homosexual couples join in a civil union.
Traditional religious views in the United States, such as those held by the Roman Catholics and Protestants, view homosexuality as immoral and sinful. However, one of the foundations of our legal system is the separation of church and state. In a country as culturally diverse as the United States, it is impossible to please every religion. This is the reason why we make the distinction between church and state.
Just as different religions have different views on issues such as abortion, different religions have different views concerning homosexual marriage. For example, gay marriages have been accepted for years in the Buddhist community (Bidstrup 5). This is one of the oldest religions, yet marriage between homosexual people is accepted. As seen in the Hawaii case, the debate over gay marriage has been disputed for years. Vermont has been the only state to permit these people to marry in their state. When foreigners come to America, many times they come under the belief that they have the choice to be whatever they want to be.
This holds true for any different race who comes here. Unfortunately, America is not yet truly free, not until we as a nation recognize the homosexual community and begin to take them seriously. The reasoning against gay marriages does not make sense. Legalizing gay marriages is the only logical choice when considering this issue.
Homosexuals have nontraditional partners, but that does not mean that they love one another any less than heterosexual couples do.
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Research essay sample on Church And State Homosexual Couples
