Political Aspects of Gay Marriage

Political Aspects of Gay Marriage in the United States

Gay marriage is a contentious subject in the United States and there has been much in the way of debate in relation to whether gay marriages should be acknowledged as such or if they should remain simply 'civil unions' from the legal perspective. This present study seeks to answer the questions of: (1) what is the status of the rights of gays to marry in the U.S.; 92) what is the status of gay marriage in the state of California?; and (3) what are the specific rights and benefits of gays to marry in the U.S.

SAME SEX MARRIAGE LICENSE LAWS

The work of Mello (2004) entitled: "Legalizing Gay Marriage" relates that the state of Vermont was the first of all U.S. states to institute gay civil unions. The work of Stritof and Stritof (2009) entitled: "Same Sex Marriage License Laws" reports the status quo of same sex marriage license laws in the fifty U.S. states and it is related that same sex marriage is banned in the majority of U.S. states although some U.S. states allow gay couples to enter into a 'civil union' which is similar to marriage but is the legal institution that has been appointed for gay couples who want to legally bind themselves to one another. The UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies work entitled: "Same-Sex Marriage in California" states that the view that "marriage is a legally recognized union of one man and one woman" is a view that is "deeply embedded in moral and religious beliefs..." In the United States. In 1996 Congress denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages in the "Defense of Marriage Act" and 37 states followed in passing their own versions of this act.

II. SAME-SEX MARRIAGE in the STATE of CALIFORNIA

The California legislature defined marriage in 1977 as the "legal tie between a man and a woman." (UC Berkeley, 2008) Specifically stated is: "Marriage is a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary." (Family Code Sec. 300) While same sex marriage was allowed for a period of time in the state of California, state law has once again embraced that marriage is between a man and a woman and presently gay couples, while not allowed to marry in the state of California do have the option of a civil union which basically provides the same rights as those deemed to exist in marriage between two heterosexual adults.

III. OTHER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE VIEWS

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life work entitled: "Same-Sex Marriage: Redefining Marriage Around the World" states that the 2006 European Commission study states findings that "a plurality of people in the European Union (49%) oppose gay marriage. Yet, as in the United States, the public remains divided on the issue, with 44% favoring same-sex marriage." (Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 2009)

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION