Same-Sex Marriage and Equality

A New Kind of Marriage The beliefs of American society are rapidly changing, and one of the most important and argued social issue of this generation is same sex marriage, and marriage equality. Members of the gay community felt as if they have waited long enough and demand that changes should be made, but American lawmakers aren’t as progressive as the gay community would like them to be. Marriage is an institution that is controlled by the state, as suggested by Kerry Howley; “Marriage... is a three way contract in which one party, the state, greatly outweighs the other two”. She emphasizes that even if the majority of American citizens support equal marriage rights for homosexual couples, the Government will always have the final word. The main argument against gay marriage is that it is strictly a religious institution, which prohibits same sex marriage. Anna Quindlen says that “No religion should be forced to marry anyone in violation of its tenets, although ironically it is now only in religious ceremonies that gay people can marry, performed by clergy who find the blessing of two who love one another no sin”, which essentially means the best course of action for homosexuals seeking the quickest solution to their marriage equality dilemma is to forget about marriage, and to create a new secular institution for all non religious people/relationships. This new concept of a secular union has the greatest potential to make everyone happy. The predominate issue with same sex marriage is the religious aspect. People who have been raised their entire lives with the idea that marriage is the greatest form of a relationship, granted to them by their God are going to be understandably slow to accept the idea that people who don’t follow their religion/lifestyle are able to be granted the same religious title, and this, for most people, is the only concern, and not that they flat out hate gay people and want them gone all together. Making it a point that

Cited: Howley, Kerry. "Marriage just lets the state back in." The Free Library 01 November 2003. 17 November 2013 . Gallagher, Maggie. “What Marriage Is For.” The Weekly Standard. The Weekly Standard, 4 Aug. 2003. Web. 11 July 2011. Quindlen, Anna. “Public and Private; Evan’s Two Moms.” New York Times. New York Times, 5 Feb. 1992. Web. 11 July 2011.