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Example research essay topic: Gay And Lesbian One Man And One Woman - 1,443 words

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Gay Marriage The appearance of marriage between same-sex couples provoked one of the major cultural and social changes of the twentieth century in the United States. In 1970 gay and lesbian couples inquired numerous marriage licenses from the Los Angeles County Clerk. As a result the Clerks office proposed the California legislature to tighten California marriage laws. Despite the promising start, and the aggressive efforts of gay and lesbian supporters and activists, for almost twenty years issue of homosexual marriage disappeared from the courts, the state and national legislatures, the mass media, and American community itself. In 1971, Richard John Baker and James Michael McConnell began the first case of same-sex marriage in the court of Minnesota. Having argued their constitutional rights, they cited recent anti-miscegenation laws in support of their plea, however, the court overruled all the claims.

The first lesbian case, Jones v. Hallahan, was registered in Kentucky in 1973. Similarly to prior litigation, the case was lost on the basis of falling outside the dictionary formulating of marriage. During the 1970 s, numerous court cases were lost, however a few small victories were gained, such as a marriage license granted to a gay couple in Boulder, Colorado, which subsequently encouraged gay and lesbian couples to apply successfully for marriage licenses. However, the decision was later abolished by the Attorney General and all licenses were recalled. As a reaction to those events, in 1975 the Arizona legislature passed an emergency bill defining marriage as only being possible between a man and a woman, setting up a precedent for other state legislatures.

The period from the 1970 s till the mid- 1980 was marked by the radical lesbian-feminism and AIDS concerns, which dominated political energy and time within the lesbian and gay communities. The radical lesbian-feminist theory argued against the institution of marriage in general, therefore many lesbians questioned the focus on lesbian and gay marriage rights. Important issue of the AIDS epidemic dominated peoples lives, making lesser issues of marriage rights to become secondary. However, many contemporary sociologists indicate that both the lesbian-feminist movement and AIDS activism may have provoked the issue of same-sex marriages by encouraging more people to come out.

The feminist movement initialized the passing of Equal Rights Amendments, which subsequently had a great effect on a famous same-sex marriage case in Hawaii in the 1990 s, where the state ERA was utilized as basic argument for legalizing such marriages. In 1986, the American Civil Liberties Union declared about its intentions to eliminate legal barriers preventing lesbians and gays from marrying. Later on, the San Francisco Bar Association called for gay and lesbian marriages, while Chicago journalists filed complaints with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, accusing the state of sex discrimination. By the 1990 s, many organizations were trying to initiate and support the passing of pro-marriage bills; simultaneously court cases continued, along with the filing of discrimination complaints with Human Rights Commissions.

The issue started gaining an impulse in the general public and, in 1989, a Time magazine poll indicated 69 percent disapproval, 23 percent approval, and eight percent unsure on the issue of legalizing same-sex marriages. Three years later, in a 1992 Newsweek survey the data reported 58 percent against, 35 percent for, and seven percent unsure. In most contemporary surveys, between 30 and 35 percent support gay marriage, and around 60 to 65 percent are opposed. The most peculiar court case, which considerably impacted on the progress of same-sex marriage, was Bar v. Lewin, heard in Hawaii in 1991. Three same-sex couples pleaded the state of Hawaii for refusing to issue marriage licenses, referring to the fact of Equal Rights Amendment violation, which barred discrimination on the basis of sex.

May 1993, for the first time in U. S. legal history, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in favor of lesbian and gay marriage, however, in 1996 Circuit Judge Kevin Chang ruled against the state of Hawaii on almost all counts, declaring that the state could not deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples and ordering the state to pay the plaintiffs litigation costs. Anti-gay supporters and political leaders were afraid that lesbians and gays would flock to Hawaii to marry; therefore they continuously worked to change the constitutional mandate introducing an interstate recognition of marriage, according to which each state must accept and honor a marriage license granted in any other state. The most considerable blow to the gay and lesbian community came with the passage of the Federal government Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, according to which marriage was defined as a legal union between one man and one woman, and therefore states were judicially allowed to ignore out-of-state gay and lesbian marriages.

During the late 1990 s, over 30 states enacted some type of anti-same-sex-marriage acts, intentionally limiting marriage to one man and one woman. The 1990 s laws differed from those passed in the 1970 s because they considered marriages within their own state as well as the interstate recognition of marriages. In the 1998 elections Hawaii voters passed a ballot asserting there should be a constitutional amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman. From the judicial point of view, the potential amendment would make it more difficult, but not impossible, for a judge to declare same-sex marriage legal. While conservative and right-wing elements battled against the gay marriage activists, the issue itself became out of public interest. Contemporary poll conducted by the Alliance to End Hunger indicated that candidate positions on issues such as poverty and hunger are more important than their stances on gay marriage.

In particular, 78 percent of voters said a candidates plan for fighting poverty would affect their voting decision, while only 15 percent indicated a position on gay marriage to be an important one. Numerous attempts on legalization of gay marriages aroused concerns in the White House, the House of Representative, and the Vatican. In June of 2004 the U. S. Supreme Court overruled the laws that made gay sex a crime. Thus, it was seen by many as generating momentum to give gay and lesbian couples the right to legally marry.

Before the U. S. high court ruling, the initiators of a constitutional amendment that would formally restrict marriage to a man and a woman had difficulty gaining supporters. The number of House supporters had reached 75 members. President Bush affirmed at a news conference that the country should respect gays and lesbians, however also confirmed unwillingness to compromise on the definition of marriage. I believe in the sanctity of marriage.

I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman, Bush explained at conference. I think we ought to codify that one way or the other. Weve got lawyers looking at the best way to do that. Subsequently, the Vatican protested the attempts to legalize gay marriage, identifying it an immoral threat to families as well as harmful to the proper development of human society. The 12 -page statement issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith alerted Catholic politicians that a vote supporting same-sex marriage would be gravely immoral. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law, indicated the statement, which eventually had not introduced new church teaching on homosexuality.

The document also claimed that gay couples should not be allowed to adopt children because it would do violence to deprive a child of a mother or father. However, civil liberties and gay groups warned that the Catholic Church should be the last institution to decide upon the issue, because of the fact of sexual abuse of children by its own priests over the last several decades. Marianne Daddy, executive director for Dignity USA, a national movement of gay and lesbian Catholics explained that for the Vatican to make such a statement in light of how it was handled the sexual abuse crisis in the church was appalling. In addition, the Vatican encouraged lawmakers around the world to preserve traditional marriages. On the other hand, according to the Pew Forum survey, 53 percent of Americans oppose gay marriage, but support has grown from 27 percent in 1996 to 42 percent today.

Simultaneously, opposition among Protestants and Catholics in particular has fallen by about 20 percent; moreover it was found that support for homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle has slipped from 54 percent before the Supreme Court ruling to 46 percent in late July. In the light of important changes happened overseas, in particular Germany, Finland, and Portugal granted recognition to same-sex partnerships, the number of victories in court cases in the United States suggests that a steady step-by-step strategy should be developed.


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Research essay sample on Gay And Lesbian One Man And One Woman

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