Institution Of Marriage To Same Sex Couples example essay topic

The question of opening the institution of marriage to same-sex couples is the subject of an emotional national debate taking place at family dinner tables, provincial and federal legislatures and in the press. Opponents of same-sex marriages invoke religious tradition and family values. Allowing same-sex couples to marry, they assert, would somehow "deconstruct marriage, legitimize counterfeits, and re-define family in ways that would make it unrecognizable as the foundational social institution" (Washington Post). On the other hand, many gay-positive and religious liberal news sources stress that same-sex marriages and / or civil unions should be approached as civil liberty issues.

The right to marry the person with whom you have made a lifetime commitment is of paramount importance to many - a major human rights issue. Author Andrew Sullivan wrote: .".. marriage has become a way in which the state recognizes an emotional commitment by two people to each other for life. And within that definition, there is no public way, if one believes in equal rights under the law, in which it should legally be denied homosexuals" (183). Although the eligibility for marriage has undergone many major changes during the existence of the U.S. and Canada, federal, state and provincial laws in North America have always restricted marriage to partners of opposite gender. On June 10, 2003 the Court of Appeal for Ontario has ruled that it was unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to marry: "There is no evidence before this court that a declaration of invalidity without a period of suspension will pose any harm to the public, threaten the rule of law, or deny anyone the benefit of the legal recognition of their marriage" (38). Canada and the U.S. are multi-racial, multi-religious, and multi-ethnic societies.

To paraphrase William Eskridge Jr., in his book "The case for same-sex marriage", North American society is a synergy of African, Chinese, English, Filipino, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Jewish, Mexican, Native American, Puerto Rican and other cultures; of Black, Caucasian, and other races; of Islam, Judaism, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and other religions; of people with bisexual heterosexual, and homosexual orientations; etc. Most of these segments of society have been militantly opposed in the past by the majority. Time after time, group hatred has been replaced by group acceptance and cooperation. Oppression of, and discrimination against, gays and lesbians is the last major hurdle for us to overcome in order to become a fully accepting society. Anton N. Marco, of Christian Leadership Ministries, calls same-sex marriage "The Last Cultural Frontier".

Meanwhile, opponents led by religious fundamentalists have mounted a pre-emptive campaign aimed at getting other provinces to enact laws to prevent recognition of same-sex marriages performed in Ontario and British Columbia. This could create an absurd, demeaning and unconstitutional situation where marriages lawful in one province would suddenly be void when a couple crossed provincial borders. The backlash against same-sex marriage is driven by social intolerance, but also poses an ominous challenge to the nation's Federal system of laws, and the basic requirements of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Bibliography

Connor, Ken. "A final word... ". Washington Post, Sep 4, 2001, sec.
C: 12. Court of Appeal for Ontario. McMurtry C.J.O., MacPherson and Gilles e JJ.A. June 10, 2003: 53.
Eskridge, William. The case for same-sex marriage. Boston: Free Press, 1996.
Marco, Anton N. "Same-Sex "Marriage": Should America Allow "Gay Rights" Activists to Cross The Last Cultural Frontier?" Sullivan, Andrew. Virtually Normal. New York: Penguin Books, 1995.