Preview

Freedom of Change

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1203 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Freedom of Change
Freedom of Change It 's 2013. Women 's suffrage has been obtained, legal racial segregation has come to an end, and labor laws now protect a person 's livelihood in the workforce. Women, non-white citizens, and most workers in America, have worked very hard to fight for those freedoms and rights. Yet as a country, we cannot decide if people of the same sex should be given marriage rights. So will gay couples be given the right of marriage in the years to come? Will their fight for change, have the same outcome as their predecessors? So far, nine states have already made the change, let 's hope more do so in the near future. The gay community, in America, has been advocating for this change for quite some time, and they refuse to give up their right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Times are changing, and two people who love each other, regardless of their sexual orientation, should be given the right and freedom to marriage. If two people want to share their lives together, legally, they should have the right to. It is unlawful and discriminatory to not allow freedom of personal choice, regarding marriage and family life. On August 4, 2010, US District Judge, Vaughn Walker wrote Prop 8 in California was, "unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses". These clauses come from the same notion written in the Declaration of Independence, where everyone is entitled to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Also, these inalienable Rights are to be considered by the courts when in due process, and should not discriminate against anyone. The gay community has suffered through laborious court appeals and protests, but still fight regardless of negative outcomes. This persistence and passion will, hopefully one day, create a country in which they will be seen as equal individuals. These individuals only seek equality and acceptance, where they can be able to make decisions together, as a family. When you become


Cited: Freedom to Marry, "Marriage 101," www.freedomtomarry.org, Sep. 15, 2010.Web. 23 Feb. 2013. "Gay Marriage ProCon.org." ProCon.org. 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. "In re Marriage Cases". No. S147999. Supreme Court of the State of California. 26 Sep. 2007. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. Perry v. Schwarzenneger. 3:09-cv-02292. United States District Court for the Northern District of California. 2004. www.uscourts.gov. Web. 14 Jun. 2011. Reno, R.R. "The future of marriage." First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life 229 (2013): 3+. Academic OneFile. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Silver, Nate. "Divorce Rate Higher in States with Gay Marriage Bans." www.fivethirtyeight.com. n.p. 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. Talbot, Margaret, "Marriage as a Dynamic Institution," The New Yorker. Cande Naste., 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 23 Feb.2013.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Week 5 Final Paper
    • 2010 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Week 5 Final Paper

    Support of the Parties Challenging Marriage and Exclusion 2007, California Psychological Association retrieved from www. courtinfo.ca.gov.…

    • 2010 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Defense Of Marriage Argumentative Analysis
    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Defense Of Marriage Argumentative Analysis

    The two cases before the United States Supreme Court challenge both Congress’s traditional definition of marriage in DOMA and California’s traditional definition in its Proposition 8. The central question before the court in each…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Essay On Gay Rights
    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Persuasive Essay On Gay Rights

    In conclusion to gay marriage they are all human and deserve equal rights. They deserve to be treated just like everyone no matter what gender. Just because religion institutions rule out gay marriage, the government should not deny homosexuals their rights, they all deserve to be happy. In the end gay marriage will not only be an advantage for the homosexuals but for many other people who can benefit from their…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cohabiting Versus Marriage
    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Cohabiting Versus Marriage

    References: Gallagher, Linda J. Waite & Maggie. The case for marriage. New York: Dou-bleday, 2000.…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    My Thesis on Same Sex Marriage
    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages

    My Thesis on Same Sex Marriage

    The legislation of the states will one day allow same sex marriage in to be legal. The states legislation needs to listen to the homosexual community and understand that they are not trying to demise traditional marriage. They just want to be equal and to share their vows of marriage with the person they love. Most same sex couples have resigned to the fact that they may never get married and live there life together with their partners…

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Should Gay Marriage Should Be Legal In The Entire United States
    • 1363 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Should Gay Marriage Should Be Legal In The Entire United States

    Recently, the controversy about same-sex marriage has resurfaced. In order to understand this controversy we should remember that Proposition Twenty-two was a law enacted by California voters in March 2000 to restrict marriages to only those between opposite-sex couples. In May 2008, this proposition was struck down by the California Supreme Court as contrary to the state constitution. In May 15, 2008 the California Supreme Court, ruling on In re Marriage Cases, declared that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to marry. As a result of this decision, a debate and an opposition movement appeared against same-sex marriage. Therefore, Six months later, in November 2008 California voters overturned the In re Marriage Cases decision by approving an amendment of the state constitution called Proposition 8. This proposition restricted marriage exclusively to only men and women. By restricting marriage to only men and woman, this proposition is directly overturning The California Supreme Court ruling. That is why the issue was dragged to the…

    • 1363 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Advantages of Same Sex Marriage
    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Advantages of Same Sex Marriage

    Marriage benefits (such as joint ownership, medical decision-making capacity) should be available to all couples. Marriage is more than a legal status. It affects many things in society such as tax filing status, joint ownership of property, insurance benefits, and agency law. It affects critical medical decisions. For example, if one member of a gay couple that has been together for 20 years gets critically ill, visitation may not even be allowed since the other isn't considered a "spouse or immediate family member". Also, critical medical decisions must often be made when one person is incapacitated; e.g. should a certain surgery be done or not? It is completely unfair to deny these privileges to people because their relationship doesn't fit the state's definition of one.…

    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Opinion on Gay Marriage Rights
    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    An Opinion on Gay Marriage Rights

    In 2013, it boggles my mind that we are still messing up on basic human rights issues. Of course homosexual marriage should be legal. If the issue people have with gay marriage is that it is not in keeping with their religious belief, that shouldn’t matter because couples can be married through a civil authority on behalf of the government and not have to worry about representation from the church. Even so, couples should be able to get married in their place of worship if the clergy has no problem with it. If the matter is that it compromises the integrity of marriage, heterosexual marriage has been showing that its integrity isn’t very strong itself, with such a high proportion of marriage ending in divorce. With state amendments such as Proposition 8 in California and federal laws such as The Defense of Marriage Act, the idea that these documents are protecting marriage is misguided for the proposed shield that these laws will provide is only a sword aimed at civil rights.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gay Marriage
    • 1402 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gay Marriage

    All men are created equal and therefore there should be no discrimination. They all have individual rights. These words were written over two hundred years ago, and even then, the people believed in the importance of equality. In the United States Constitution, which provides us with many liberties, one of our civil liberties being the pursuit of happiness, which we are depriving the homosexual people. According to Wood, Peter B., and John P. Bartkowski. "Attribution Style And Public Policy Attitudes Toward Gay Rights." Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) 85.1 (2004): 58-74, there are 19 states where in which gay marriage is banned and so are civil partnerships. Gay marriage should be legalized because it goes against the constitution and everything we Americans stand for.…

    • 1402 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Should Gay Marriage Be Legalized?
    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Should Gay Marriage Be Legalized?

    Firstly, every citizen has the right to marry. The federal civil right laws of the United States have long legalized the marriage as a fundamental civil right. Moreover, it is stated in the first Amendment of the Constitution that a person’s religious beliefs or a lack of thereof must be protested. Judging from these two statements, legislatures should not discriminate against marriage of minority party which, homosexuals fall into this category. In addition, though the marriage of the same gender is not identified explicitly by the Unites States Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are now ten states in America that positively permit the legality of homosexual marriage. Despite that more and more people become conscious of this basic civil right, some protesters still hold Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 (DOMA) which defined marriage to be between a man and a woman for the continuation of society as their weapon. But actually, this law is now of great consideration by Mr. Obama and he has showed his orientation to repeal this out-of-date law. As a result, such a disappearing law cannot be regarded as a…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Argumentative Essay Example: Same Sex Marriage Eng 101
    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Argumentative Essay Example: Same Sex Marriage Eng 101

    A big issue in today’s society is whether same sex couples have the same rights as opposite sex couples. The biggest concern is the right to marriage and currently, according to the Human Rights Campaign’s website, about 11 out of 50 states have generated laws that permit same sex marriage in that certain state. Same sex marriage is recognized by that state but not by the federal government and the movement towards same sex marriage, is aiming for the approval from the federal government. Same sex marriage should become a right protected under the constitution, whose place is it to say whether a man and a man, or a woman and a woman cannot be legally married? If you take two x-rays of a man and woman and put them side by side, unless you’re a doctor or an archaeologist you cannot tell them apart and that goes to show that underneath it all, we are all the same regardless of race, ethnicity and gender. Therefore, we should all have the same rights whether homosexual or heterosexual.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Same-Sex Marriage
    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Same-Sex Marriage

    People should not be denied the right to marry the one they love the state of California does this exactly it banned same sex marriage same-sex marriage is protected by the constitution’s commitments to liberty and equality, therefore it should be allowed. United States District Judge Vaughn Walker wrote on Aug. 4, 2010 that Prop. 8 in California banning same marriage was "unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses” (www.uscourts.gov). The Due process Clause says that people have the choice of who they want to marry and have family with. Walker then states that by not allowing same sex, the state is denying same-sex couples their Constitutional rights. The state should be enforcing it, not denying someone the right that they have already been given. It is not the governments business whether or not two men or two women want to marry each other, people should be allowed to public celebrate their commitment. They should be allowed to walk hand in hand just like heterosexual couples, same-sex couples should have the same rights. Who is the government to decide who can and cannot marry, they don’t know what these couples feel or don’t feel…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Marriage Equality Speech
    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Marriage Equality Speech

    This issue of same sex marriage has been alive for years now, and it is time we finally make a decision. Recently, California passed Proposition 8. This is an amendment to the California constitution which simply states “Only marriage between a man and woman is valid or recognized in California.” It is tragic how these mere fourteen words can negatively impact so many people’s lives. Luckily, a repeal of Proposition 8 may appear on the November 2010 ballot. This means we have the opportunity to undo our mistake of letting this law pass in the first place. I believe we should all support this repeal in any way we can. Regardless of your views of the gay community, it is important you all understand why voting against this repeal is wrong, unconstitutional, and discriminating. This vote is not about politics or religion. This vote is about fairness; it is about people who are of the right age, are in love, who choose to live together, share everything together, and just want to be able to have the same protection that the government grants everyone else.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Same Sex Marriage
    • 2793 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Same Sex Marriage

    "Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license," wrote U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker in a 136-page decision. According to DOMA (Defense of marriage act) marriage is the legal union between a man and women as husband and wife (Soloman 2012 pg1). California’s Proposition 8 bans gay marriage, and the latter centers on Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars recognition of same-sex marriage at the federal level. Singling out one specific group and taking away their rights simply because of their sexual preference is unconstitutional.…

    • 2793 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Should Same Sex Marriage Be Legalized
    • 1515 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Should Same Sex Marriage Be Legalized

    The Constitution of the United States of America says everyone should have equal rights. Freedom to marry is no different than freedom of religion. If an individual can choose who to worship and believe in, then that individual should be able to choose who to love and spend their life with. In 1974, the Supreme Court ruled that in the case of Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, "freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause (ProCon.org 2013)”. Not legalizing same sex marriage only leads people to believe that it is acceptable to discriminate against those who lead this life style. Because of this, laws regarding same sex marriage need to evolve with the times. When laws were created against same sex marriage, it was also not accepted to marry interracially. Since this time these laws have been revised and have allowed for many happy, healthy homes. This goes to show that if laws are not changed to fit the times, the country can never grow. This growth can provide great…

    • 1515 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics