Same-Sex Marriage Essay....

Disclaimer: The views expressed hear are clearly mine and mine alone. It is however on a deeply sensitive subject. Read at your own risk.

It's VERY LONG

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In today’s society, Americans that search for same sex marriages are being prevented from roughly 1,400 legal rights that are bestowed upon married couples. Typically these are composed of about 400 state benefits and over 1,000 federal benefits. Some of these benefits include joint parenting, joint adoption, decision-making power regarding whether a deceased partner will be cremated or not and where to bury them; moreover legal rights in the matter of health their partner. These rights also being denied include being unable to file federal taxes jointly and obtain the tax benefits of filing with a loved one as which happens to be the case for heterosexual marriages. By not allowing same-sex marriage the government is denying fundamental civil rights; rights that many people have fought and given their lives for..

Civil rights are defined by The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy as:
“A broad range of privileges and rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and subsequent amendments and laws that guarantee fundamental freedoms to all individuals.”

It’s further stated
“These freedoms include the rights of free expression and action (civil liberties); the right to enter into contracts, own property, and initiate lawsuits; the rights of due process and equal protection of the laws; opportunities in education and work; the freedom to live, travel, and use public facilities wherever one chooses; and the right to participate in the democratic political system.”

Marriage is, in the legal sense, a binding contract between two people. It allows couples to have a joint say in legal matters. Currently only two states in the United States recognize gay marriages: California and Massachusetts. While California will allow residents or visitors to marry in the state, Massachusetts has only granted the right to allow residents of the state to join in matrimony.

Those who are against marriage of same genders often state that it’s not right for a church to be forced to marry a couple if they did not agree with the union of people of the same sex; claiming that same-sex couples are seeking special rights. It is however conceivable for a couple to be joined in union without involving the church. The battles for people to be married in a church will continued to be fought because churches have always had the right to refuse marriages for whatever reason they deem fit. In some cases, marriages between two races are denied. Another reason why a church can refuse to officiate a marriage is if they believe that one or both the spouses are being forced to marry.

It would not be far from the truth to say that many of our laws are dictated by what used to be considered moral and normal. People argue that the marriage between two individuals of the same sex is unnatural. However,same sex unions have been documented in history. Proof of this are records of famous lovers Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, an Egyptian couple, and the Greek couple Harmodius and Aristogiton. A tomb uncovered in 1964 in the necropolis of Saqqara at Memphis held a painting of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum which bore witness to an early case of a same-sex union.. The picture depicts two males in an embrace and on the tomb the saying, “Niankhkhnum means, " Joined to life" and Khnumhotep means "joined to 'the blessed state of the dead'" and together the names can be translated as "joined in life and joined in death"” (Millard, par. 3.)

Furthermore in Ancient Greece, the story of the youth Harmodius and his lover, Aristogiton was developed and is a famous depiction of Greek pederasty. Pederasty refers to an erotic relationship, sexually expressed or not, between an adolescent boy and an adult male outside his immediate family. Consequently, in greek life, it was common for older greek man to have relationships with younger men but not for two men of the same age to have relationships, the latter case often frowned upon. As for Harmodius and Aristogiton, what makes them exceptional is that they both have sculptures that were commissioned by Cleisthenes, who was responsible for many changes in Athenian history.

Additional evidence of homosexual partnership is found in the study of many species of animals behavior. Not only are animals capable of homosexuality and bisexuality but they are also, according to a study by Biologist Bruce Bagelmihl, “capable of rape, divorce cannibalism, child abuse, cross-dressing," and infidelity.” He further states that “The range of behavior, from same-sex cooperating to pair bonding [a couple-like arrangement] among some animals, including Cheetahs, Bottle-nose Dolphins, and Silver Gulls, can last temporarily or a lifetime” (Harrold par 5.) This goes to show that if it can be conceivable for animals of the same sex to be joined in union, the argument that human same-sex unions are unnatural becomes less and less defensible.

It wasn’t until the rise of Christian religion that same-sex marriages began to be outlawed by Christian Roman Emperors Constantius II and Constans in 342 AD. The law stated:
“When a man marries and is about to offer himself to men in womanly fashion, what does he wish, when sex has lost all its significance; when the crime is one which it is not profitable to know; when Venus is changed to another form; when love is sought and not found? We order the statutes to arise, the laws to be armed with an avenging sword, that those infamous persons who are now, or who hereafter may be, guilty may be subjected to exquisite punishment” (Theodosian Code 9.8.3.)
Nevertheless, gay unions continued and were documented until the middle ages.

The dictation of law preventing same-sex marriage calls to mind the belief that marriages are for procreation and ensuring the continuation of the species. If this is the case, than it would make the marriage between two couples who are unable to have children, those who are too old to have children, and those who choose not to have children invalid. In the unfortunate event that two heterosexual couples are unable to produce children they have the right to adopt children. This is could be the case for same-sex individuals. Currently a homosexual single person has the right to adopt a child, yet a same-sex couple does not have equal rights regarding adopting and raising a child.

Activist argue same-sex couples aren't the optimum environment in which to raise children. However, many psychological studies claim that it's not whether a child has both a mother and a father, but rather that a child lives in a loving family environment that is conducing to a healthy child. The differences have been the two cases have been repeatedly shown to be insignificant. Psychologists tell us that what makes the difference is the love and commitment of the parents, not their gender. The studies are very clear about that aspect. Moreover, if the preferred environment to raise a child is a home with two parents, it could be argued that single parents are unfit to raise children.

For people of the same sex, asking for the right to a civil union or marriage is the right to declare and establish a loving and long-term relationship with another person. It is allowing them the ability to raise a family and adhere to ideals of a marriage as any other couple would. They are not asking not for special rights, but rather the same; to be able to have a say when it comes to the medical emergencies of a partner. They are trying to live their life as any heterosexual would in the pursuit of happiness and is that not what the constitution states as one of our inalienable rights?

As a relatively progressive Roman Catholic, my religion is against the marriage between two people of the same sex. It however, doesn’t make me any less catholic to be able to recognize the change and movement of our nation. There are many things stated in the bible that we don’t adhere to for example, in the book of Deuteronomy 22:22 it states “If a married person has sex with someone else's husband or wife, the Bible commands that both adulterers be stoned to death.” Further evidence is in Mark 12:18-17, “If a man dies childless, his widow is ordered by biblical law to have intercourse with each of his brothers in turn until she bears her deceased husband a male heir.” These are among several things that were held true in biblical times we don’t perceive as being acceptable in the modern world.

Before the end of the civil war it was not conceivable for people of a different race to be considered equal. This is the same cause that the homosexual community is pursuing in our time: equality. Nowadays the prospect of banning interracial marriages is absurd. In the future, hopefully this will be the same with gay, lesbian, transsexual and transgendered couples.