Gay Marriages
In America today, with an ever increasing emphasis on the separation of Church and State, the decision must be made whether things that are considered morally wrong, such as same sex marriages, should be prohibited solely on the premises of morals. To answer the question of whether gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry, the question of why the institution of marriage is valued so dearly in society today must be answered. To do this the meaning of the word marriage must be found, remembering that there are different levels in which marriage can be interpreted and/or evaluated. As with many other issues, when one tries to define the word marriage and its repercussions in society, several fundamental questions arise that must be answered in order to get a better understanding of the issue in question. Questions like: What is marriage defined as? In Webster's Dictionary, marriage is defined as "The institution whereby men and women are joined in special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family."(Merriam-Webster). This concept seems to have been perpetuated throughout history, one man and one woman joined "till death do them part"(Uncommon Knowledge). In cultures
Due to the many different interpretations of the definition of marriage, there are many different laws that pertain to marriage. It is possible that eventually, same sex marriages will be allowed in some, if not all, of the states in the United States. Some states have already made steps in that direction. For instance, Vermont has recently passed a law that allows "Civil Unions" between two men or two women. This is not the same as a marriage, but it gives same sex partners just about all the benefits. "Parties to a civil union shall have all the same benefits, protections and responsibilities under Vermont law, whether they derive from statute, policy, administrative or court rule, common law or any other source of civil law, as are granted to spouses in a marriage."(Markowitz) Vermont is not the only state that has laws such as these though. Hawaii, in fact, recently passed a constitutional amendment saying that the marriage law was unconstitutional. Congress immediately passed the "Defense of Marriage Act". This stated that "No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of
Some common words found in the essay are:
Webster's Dictionary, , Civil Unions, Andrew Sullivan, United Indian, Act Hawaii's, Marriage Rights, Act Marriage, Marriage Act, sex marriages, marriage act, territory possession, definition marriage, defense marriage act, word marriage, marriage religious, marriage woman, possession tribe, marriage defined, territory possession tribe, marriage laws, Defense Marriage,
Approximate Word count = 810
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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