Gay Marriage as a Legal Issue

dear jacksone,

i loved your post Gay Marriage as a Legal Issue because not only ami doing the same topic but it also applies to me because i too will have thuis issue in the near future. 

one sentence that stood out for me was " Legislation shows that marriage is defined between a man and a woman, leaving same sex marriage impossible in the United States."  i think this is true because i have friends who do like peopole of the same sex yet they cant get married just because they love someone of the same sex. 

another sentence i noticed was "Anti-Gay marriage activists are using Religion as a huge advocate for reasons the United States needs to ban gay marriage. However, how can that be a legal reason in a government that has separation between church and state as well as freedom of religion for all."  this stood out for me because i see it in the news often and it upsets me because:

1.) the united states separates the church and state laws and

2.) these people use something that does not have to do with a secular marriage because the spiritual marriage is optional

thanks for your writing i hope you write some more on this issue that involves me so much.  oh and sorry for grammar errors its morning and im tired and too lazy to look this over.

Jacksone,

I am pleased that you wrote on the same issue as myself. I am also glad to know that you stand the same place I do. But that is not the only thing that made yoour post good. I enjoyed your use of the block quotes to demonstrate both sides, and I like that you talked about the seperation of church and state in this country.

I would suggest maybe looking more into Prop 8 and similar laws, this could aid your argument.

Thanks for the interesting read

-Skylar

 Jackson,

Thank you for your well written post about Gay Marriage. I think that you did a great job showing both sides of the issue. I enjoyed how you mention civil rights, and discrimination, because basically that is what it boils down to. 

I think that you could go further into the position that various religious organizations uphold. You could also talk about the people who think that being homosexual is something one is naturally born with or is it something one chooses. Also becasue you mention children you could talk about adoption, and family structures with Gay parents how they are different and how they are similar. What do you think? And great job, keep it up!

Great post!

First off, I am going to be a bit of a legal stickler for a moment and pick apart that first block quote. The Hawaii Legislature defines marriage as "intended for 'man-woman units' capable of procreation." What does this mean for sterile couples? Can a sterile man not marry? If a wife finds out she can not bear children is her marriage considered invalid? I know this is a technicality, but laws aren't just written on a whim.  That particular qualification, if taken literally, would rule out all marriages whose constituents were unable to procreate.

Secondly, although I believe the second blockquote to be true, it needs evidence to make it a legitimate claim. To say that "the main reason for denying marriage to gay couples is that all major religions consider homosexuality a sin" is a bold statement, and nothing more than polemical rhetoric. If proponents of gay marriage could prove that religion was the primary reason gay marriage is banned, they might be able to also prove that the ban is unconstitutional.

Third, perhaps the best way to settle this dispute is to use a different term for homosexuals ("civil union" for example) to define essentially the same arrangement as marriage. By doing so, homosexuals are able to receive all the benefits of married couples and the "sanctity of marriage" is unchanged.