Why do people continue to disagree about same-sex marriage? Is it solely because of religious beliefs? Personal lifestyles? Or the values instilled in a person throughout childhood? Regardless of the reason, it is clear that racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination still strongly exist in our society, and the right of same-sex marriage is one that will not be ignored in the LGBTQ community. However, the push for marriage equality has made vast improvements recently. In November 2012, three states legalized gay marriage. Vice President Joe Biden announced his support of same-sex marriage with President Barack Obama quickly following in his footsteps. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also made her opinions regarding the issue very clear as she said in a video for the Human Rights Campaign “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights. And the United States will be a leader in defending those rights” (Huffington Post). The increased acceptance for gay rights is being reflected in the United States government.
Just this past Tuesday Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois declared his support of same sex marriage saying “Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back — government has no place in the middle” (U.S. News). Kirk’s statement makes him the second sitting Republican senator to make such an announcement in the recent few weeks. Of all current Democratic senators, only six have yet to come out in supporting same-sex marriage. Although there is still a very far way to go in insuring that everyone has access to equal rights, it is important to consider how far the LGBT community has come in their fight towards marriage equality. So often the government is viewed in a negative light in regards to gender, race, and equal rights, but the role of the government and their involvement in these issues is not always bad. Take for example the evolution in President Obama’s beliefs involving same sex marriage. The personal and political changes that have been seen in President Obama also resemble the societal changes that have occurred. The President’s previous views of believing in granting civil unions for gay and lesbian couples have transformed into the firm support of the constitutional right that all people deserve access to.
But how will any type of change truly be induced? And who has the power to do so? Ultimately, it comes down to ten people who have the power and ability to enforce immediate change: the nine justices and President Obama himself. How these individuals act in these next few formative months could potentially change the future of this social issue. The two separate appeals argued this week, once again placed the emphasis on the response of the high court. The appeals which the high court must strictly consider and analyze are the following:
-The first regarding DOMA, the federal Defense of Marriage Act which states that marriage is between a man and a woman meaning federal tax, social security, pension, and other rights do not apply to gay and lesbian couples.
– The second involved California’s Proposition 8, which abolished same-sex marriage in 20008 after the state’s high court had ruled it legal.
Ultimately, the events this week asked the Supreme Court to establish same-sex as a constitutional right. Both the DOMA and Proposition 8 will test the judicial, congressional, and presidential powers to the highest extent.
But apart from the government’s role in this issue, the other main component of equal importance is the society. According to a CNN poll, 53% of the public believe that marriage between gay or lesbian couples should be legally recognized with 44 % in opposition (CNN News). Also taken from CNN, here is a glance at same-sex marriage strictly from a statistics perspective:
Number of U.S. states that have banned same-sex marriage=38
Number of U.S. states which allow civil unions between gay and lesbian couples but no marriage=6
Number of U.S. states which allow same-sex marriage=9
Just from looking at these numbers, it is obvious that regardless of the progress made, the road to freedom for the LGBTQ population is bound to be long and extremely challenging. The task of getting all of society to agree about same-sex marriage is one that seems almost insurmountable. It seems as if most people either strongly support the issue or strongly oppose it. Although, there are bound to be Americans who are somewhere in between the two opposite ends of the spectrum, it is the people of the society who feel extremely about the issue who can either change the system or hinder it from progressing any further. A few of the strongest opposition arguments include: the Baker vs. Nelson case in which the Supreme Court of Minnesota found that “The institution of marriage as a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family, is as old as the book of Genesis”, allowing same-sex couples to marry would further weaken the institution of marriage which is already threatened by high divorce rates, and same-sex religion is fervently against various beliefs involved in many religions.
In my opinion, the issue comes down to people treating each other as people. We all have differences, and to discriminate against those who may love someone differently than we ourselves would simply makes no sense. To be denied the legality of marriage as a gay or lesbian person is denying that person a right that they deserve as a U.S. citizen. Why are restrictions placed on who we can love? It’s an emotion that cannot be changed no matter how much society and the government may try to alter it. People will always continue to disagree about the issue of same-sex marriage just as people agree to disagree about many issues that our country faces, but the strides that the government is taking towards marriage equality leads towards a more promising future for the LGBTQ community.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/hillary-clinton-gay-marriage_n_2900557.html
http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2013/04/02/gop-us-sen-mark-kirk-supporting-gay-marriage
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/04/another-democratic-senator-flips-on-gay-marriage/
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/politics/court-same-sex-obama/index.html