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.