Essay About Sex Marriages And Past Decade

Legality of Same Sex Marriages
Essay title: Legality of Same Sex Marriages
Legality of Same-Sex Marriages
The proposed legalization of same-sex marriage is one of the
most significant issues in contemporary American family law.
Presently, it is one of the most vigorously advocated reforms
discussed in law reviews, one of the most explosive political
questions facing lawmakers, and one of the most provocative issues
emerging before American courts. If same-sex marriage is legalized, it
could be one of the most revolutionary policy decisions in the history
of American family law. The potential consequences, positive or
negative, for children, parents, same-sex couples, families, social
structure public health, and the status of women are enormous. Given
the importance of the issue, the value of comprehensive debate of the
reasons for and against legalizing same-sex marriage should be
obvious. Marriage is much more than merely a commitment to love one
another. Aside from societal and religious conventions, marriage
entails legally imposed financial responsibility and legally
authorized financial benefits. Marriage provides automatic legal
protections for the spouse, including medical visitation,
succession of a deceased spouses property, as well as pension and
other rights. When two adults desire to “contract” in the eyes of the
law, as well a perhaps promise in the eyes of the Lord and their
friends and family, to be responsible for the obligations of marriage
as well as to enjoy its benefits, should the law prohibit their
request merely because they are of the same gender? I intend to prove
that because of Article IV of the United States Constitution, there is
no reason why the federal government nor any state government should
restrict marriage to a predefined heterosexual relationship.
Marriage has changed throughout the years. In Western law,
wives are now equal rather than subordinate partners; interracial
marriage is now widely accepted, both in statute and in society; and
marital failure itself, rather than the fault of one partner, may be
grounds for a divorce. Societal change have been felt in marriages
over the past 25 years as divorce rates have increased and have been
integrated into even upper class families. Proposals to legalize
same-sex marriage or to enact broad domestic partnership laws are
currently being promoted by gay and lesbian activists, especially in
Europe and North America. The trend in western European nations during
the past decade has been to increase legal aid to homosexual relations
and has included marriage benefits to some same-sex couples. For
example, within the past six years, three Scandinavian countries have
enacted domestic partnership laws allowing same-sex couples in which
at least one partner is a citizen of the specified country therefore
allowing many benefits that heterosexual marriages are given. In the
Netherlands, the Parliament is considering domestic partnership status
for same-sex couples, all major political parties favor recognizing
same-sex relations, and more than a dozen towns have already done so.
Finland provides governmental social benefits to same-sex partners.
Belgium