Same-Sex Marriage: the Controversy Essay Example

Same-sex marriage is controversial and hotly debated in the world of today. For centuries it has been perceived as being the matrimony between a man and a woman, and has been considered unnatural for a man to be attracted to another man, or a woman to be attracted to another woman in a sexual or loving manner. However, such has been going on for ages. It has always been controversial, and though people are learning to be more tolerant if not accepting of it today, the issue of marriage still arises as an ongoing issue. Over time marriage has been ever growing and changing, yet the definition has always remained the same. "Marriage is a socially-recognized union between or among partners forming a family, legitimizing sexual relations between the partners and providing the context for legitimate production of offspring" (Bidstrup). Many different cultures share recognition of this bond. Marriage's role in society has always been very important- it is an important link in the chain which keeps our families and bloodlines growing, and essentially our world evolving (Bidstrup). Marriage was not always recognized as monogamous, but rather in many societies used to be polygamous. In polygamous marriage, a man would marry many women and thus have many children. Since then however, marriage has come to be known as strictly monogamous, and in some countries polygamy is illegal (Homosexuality: The Facts). In addition to polygamy, there used to be a time in American society when interracial marriage was illegal and seen as taboo. This lasted for over 20 years between the 1940s through 1960s, and was finally abolished along with many other civil rights restrictions when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed (Homosexuality: The Facts). Arguments against same-sex marriage also include again, how many people believe same sex couples aren't "the optimum environment in which to raise children" (Bidstrup). Ironically, society overlooks the