Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S.
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Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S.
Introduction
Marriage is both central and ubiquitous. Throughout the United States of America (USA), people observe the bond of marriage in each religion, class, ethnicity and race. Primarily, it is deemed the key to happiness and the person who does not marry is thought to be excluded from essential values of the American life cycle. If people enter the bond of marriage through religious group or Church, they are not legally accepted without seeking the marriage license from government authorities. Contrary to private actors, the state does not hold the absolute prerogative to decide and allow people to marry or not. The issue of same-sex marriage is one of the most divisive social and political concern in the United States. The expressive dimensions of same-sex marriages raise contentious and distinct questions. The acceptance or denial of same-sex marriage lies at the very heart of the public opinion which is reflected in statistics and social norms.
The practice of same-sex marriage in the United States expanded from a single state in 2004 to 50 states in 2015 via state legislation, several state court rulings, federal court rulings and direct popular votes. The states have distinct marriage always which must adhere to the provisions which identify marriage as the primary right guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"kC48niaV","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}A Right to Marry?,\\uc0\\u8221{} n.d.)","plainCitation":"(“A Right to Marry?,” n.d.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":438,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/yvjivw9i/items/Q4TTJAHS"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/yvjivw9i/items/Q4TTJAHS"],"itemData":{"id":438,"type":"webpage","title":"A Right to Marry? Same-sex Marriage and Constitutional Law","container-title":"Dissent Magazine","abstract":"Marriage is both ubiquitous and central. All across our country, in every region, every social class, every race and ethnicity, every religion or non-religion, people get married. For many if not most people, moreover, marriage is not a trivial matter. …","URL":"https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/a-right-to-marry-same-sex-marriage-and-constitutional-law","title-short":"A Right to Marry?","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",5,27]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“A Right to Marry?,” n.d.). The staunch advocates of same-sex marriage are civil right organizations and civil and human right organizations. Religious groups confront the practice thoroughly and term it the desecration of the sacred ritual of marriage. However, it is imperative to advance the debate on the basis of evidence, public opinion, social values and above all, empirical evidence.
Pro Arguments
In 2004, the Pew Research center conducted votes where American citizens opposed same sex-marriages by a ratio of 60% to 31%. The support and advocacy of same sex-marriages have accelerated in the past fifteen years. In the contemporary era, the advocacy remains at the peak since the initiation of polling on the issue. Based on the results of 2019, a wide range of citizens honored same-sex marriages (61%) while 315 opposed it. A critical appraisal of the matter underpins the impact of religious views on the issue. People who are religiously unassociated, they are inclined toward supporting same-sex marriage. Among them, 79% are of the view that these marriages ought to be permitted without any impediments. The advocacy for same-sex marriages has remained equal among both women and men since 2017 ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"KgJmPwAV","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(NW, Washington, & Inquiries, n.d.)","plainCitation":"(NW, Washington, & Inquiries, n.d.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":439,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/yvjivw9i/items/ZBQXAUU3"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/yvjivw9i/items/ZBQXAUU3"],"itemData":{"id":439,"type":"post-weblog","title":"Changing Attitudes on Same-Sex Marriage | Pew Research Center","abstract":"In Pew Research Center polling in 2001, Americans opposed same-sex marriage by a margin of 57% to 35%. Since then, support for same-sex marriage has steadily grown.","URL":"https://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/","language":"en-US","author":[{"family":"NW","given":"1615 L. St"},{"family":"Washington","given":"Suite 800"},{"family":"Inquiries","given":"DC 20036 USA202-419-4300 | Main202-419-4349 | Fax202-419-4372 | Media"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",5,27]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (NW, Washington, & Inquiries, n.d.). 575 of men and 67% of women stand for same-sex marriages. The drastic rise in the acceptance and support of these marriages among adults are prominent manifestations of the generation gap as the younger generation reflects a great acceptance of marriages.
Over the past year, research conducted by Gallup indicates approximately one-ten LGBT citizens are married to the same-sex partner. Lesbians, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) cite love as the defining passion and element for getting married. A research study of the Pew Research Center survey, in 2013, further highlighted 88% of the general public and 84% of LGBT termed love as the dominant reason for getting married. The dimensions and public opinion of same-sex marriages witnessed a revolutionary transition in 2016. The U.S. Supreme court announced a landmark ruling granting same-sex couples a fundamental constitutional right to marry. It legalized gay marriages across the nation comprising the 14 states which prohibited lesbians and gays to get married. The verdict was a critical interpretation and apprehension of the 14th Amendment wherein justices marked limiting marriages only to heterosexual people desecrates the 14th Amendment’s provision of equal protection under the law. Besides, the verdict cast a positive impact on the practice of same-sex marriages and encouraged LGBTs. Consequently, 61% of same-sex living couples are married which was 385 prior to the ruling ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"KgJmPwAV","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(NW, Washington, & Inquiries, n.d.)","plainCitation":"(NW, Washington, & Inquiries, n.d.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":439,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/yvjivw9i/items/ZBQXAUU3"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/yvjivw9i/items/ZBQXAUU3"],"itemData":{"id":439,"type":"post-weblog","title":"Changing Attitudes on Same-Sex Marriage | Pew Research Center","abstract":"In Pew Research Center polling in 2001, Americans opposed same-sex marriage by a margin of 57% to 35%. Since then, support for same-sex marriage has steadily grown.","URL":"https://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/","language":"en-US","author":[{"family":"NW","given":"1615 L. St"},{"family":"Washington","given":"Suite 800"},{"family":"Inquiries","given":"DC 20036 USA202-419-4300 | Main202-419-4349 | Fax202-419-4372 | Media"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",5,27]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (NW, Washington, & Inquiries, n.d.).
The deliberated evidence and statistics is essential to supplement the argument of same-sex marriages. Irrefutably, marriage is internationally accepted the fundamental human right for all people. The human rights Charter promulgates values to allow each human to marry and establish a family. It is necessary to comprehend marriage is not merely a means of extending generations. Had it been the case, couples refraining from having children or infertile children would never marry. Marriage is a principle which transcends religious norms and influences the legal aspects.
Con Arguments
The acceptance of same-sex marriage is not the same throughout communities and politicians in the United States. A survey released by the Public Region Research Institute in 2018 indicates a wide range of evangelical Protestants (58%), conservative Republicans (58%), adults in Alabama (51%) and Mormons (53%) are against same-sex marriages. The PRRI research relied on more than 41,000 interviews across the nation. 30% of citizens confront same-sex marriage thoroughly while 39% loathe the practice. These numbers are smaller than those who advocate for same-sex marriages but these numbers have a significant impact. It comprises a crucial chunk in the Republican Party that dominates the politics across several states. The issue is primarily associated with the culture of gender orientation. The survey asked the citizens whether or not they support the business which denies services to lesbian or gay people as it may conflict with their religious beliefs.335 of citizens acceded to the idea. Moreover, the people with stA general perception indicates opposition of gay marriages has become limited to a small number of political, regional or demographic groups. However, the survey indicated opposition is strong even in those territories which appear to be staunch supporters of same-sex marriage. In Illinois, California and Maryland, a quarter of population opposes same-sex marriage in addition to 40% of conservative Democrats and 395 of blacks ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"KgJmPwAV","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(NW, Washington, & Inquiries, n.d.)","plainCitation":"(NW, Washington, & Inquiries, n.d.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":439,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/yvjivw9i/items/ZBQXAUU3"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/yvjivw9i/items/ZBQXAUU3"],"itemData":{"id":439,"type":"post-weblog","title":"Changing Attitudes on Same-Sex Marriage | Pew Research Center","abstract":"In Pew Research Center polling in 2001, Americans opposed same-sex marriage by a margin of 57% to 35%. Since then, support for same-sex marriage has steadily grown.","URL":"https://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/","language":"en-US","author":[{"family":"NW","given":"1615 L. St"},{"family":"Washington","given":"Suite 800"},{"family":"Inquiries","given":"DC 20036 USA202-419-4300 | Main202-419-4349 | Fax202-419-4372 | Media"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",5,27]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (NW, Washington, & Inquiries, n.d.).
Irrefutably, the legal debate over the matter of the same-sex-marriage has ended in the United States because of court rulings. Question pertinent to the political and cultural acceptance of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage endure. The evidence and statistics mentioned offering a potential platform to supplement the argument pertinent to the opposition of same-sex marriage. The institution of marriage has culturally been stipulated as a ritual between a woman and a man. The same observation occurred throughout the history of mankind. The advanced state of liberalism has deprived children of the blessings, love and care of a mother. Hence, the children are deprived of the essential emotional security offered by the mothers. Moreover, permitting gay couples to marry can potentially weaken the structure of marriage. It is deemed the culmination of revisionism and can have emotional intensity. To negate the legal provisions, marriage is deemed a privilege by the cynics, not the right. Several rulings of the court have explicitly highlighted that marriage revolves around the dimensions of freedom and falls under the provision of the Fourth Amendment. However, the cynics believe marriage is a privilege and the amendment only grants rights.
Likewise, same-sex or gay marriage will ultimately accelerate the accumulation of gays into the mainstream heterosexual culture to cast adverse impacts on the heterosexual community. The pop-culture and surge of absurd trends and campaigns on social networking platforms are the potential elements and factors which fueled the rise of same-sex marriages in the United States. Thus, a critical appraisal of the matter indicates it is essentially a violation of the sacred ritual of marriage and religious confrontation ought not to be deemed bigotry. Instead, the religious and political opposition is the means to encourage and enlighten people to assimilate the severe abominations associated with the practice of same-sex marriages.
Conclusion
The deliberated paper indicates the empirical evidence pertaining to both the advocates and opponents of same-sex marriage in the United States of America (USA). Besides, statistics and empirical evidence supplement rational of both sides without any discrimination. The advocates primarily glorify and base their argument based on the Fourth Amendment. Several court rulings have strengthened the belief and offered value to the spread of same-sex marriage. As reflected in the research above, the culture of same-sex marriage has witnessed a tremendous acceleration since the past five decades. Government, court and proponents of same-sex marriage played an instrumental role. The opponents also base their opposition on the grounds of morality, historical context and culture of marriage. Some of these views sound rational but they lack the constitutional support as is the case with the proponents of same-sex marriages. This aspect strengthens same-sex marriages and discards the views of the cynics in true letter and spirits. In addition, each human being is entitled to marry and exercise the will regardless of sexual orientation. It is explicitly promulgated in the Human Rights Charter. Therefore, same-sex marriage ought not to be culturally, morally, religiously or socially confronted by citizens in the United States. Though the number of supporters has surged rapidly, there still exist certain groups which are inclined towards abashing same-sex marriage thoroughly on several political and online platforms.
References
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY A Right to Marry? Same-sex Marriage and Constitutional Law. (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2019, from Dissent Magazine website: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/a-right-to-marry-same-sex-marriage-and-constitutional-law
NW, 1615 L. St, Washington, S. 800, & Inquiries, D. 20036 U.-419-4300 | M.-419-4349 | F.-419-4372 | M. (n.d.). Changing Attitudes on Same-Sex Marriage | Pew Research Center. Retrieved May 27, 2019, from https://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/
