Same sex marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Same sex marriage - Research Paper ExampleMarried couples likewise pay less in taxes and perplex many other social and financial benefits. But because gay couples are legally prevented from marrying, they are overlookd from receiving the same con grimacerations that married heterosexual couples enjoy. This paper will to a greater extent closely examine the benefits denied gay couples as well as the political and legal implications involved with the issue. It will conclude with a discussion involving one of the principal(prenominal) non-religious based reasonings that those who oppose of gay marriage espouse, the affect of this type of living arrangement on the children of the relationship. Advocates of non-traditional marriage argue that there is no constitutional basis for denying legal matrimony to gay couples. The Constitution not only legitimizes gay marriage but implies that the administration should never have considered a ban and should instead actively pursue legalizing gay marriage. As citizens of the United States, all people are guaranteed the inalienable right to pursue happiness. It does not exclude on the basis of sexual preference. The government was originally formed as an entity meant to champion the rights of the individual whether they are on the majority or minority side of public opinion. Laws that were enacted in the South disallowed the marriage between black and white people but were struck down by the Supreme Court. In 1964, the cultivated Rights Act followed the tenets of the Constitution by prohibiting this type of discrimination. The opposition to gay marriage is based on prejudice and, as time passes, the concept will function more and more accepted. It, like racial prejudice, will become socially abhorrent (Sullivan, 2000). In addition, the disallowing of gay marriage by legislation violates the Due surgical operation Clause of the Fifth Amendment. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, The law against same-sex mar riage splits on the basis of sex because it makes ones ability to marry depend on ones gender. The ACLU continues by saying, Classifications which discriminate on the basis of gender must be substantially related to some important government purpose. Tradition by itself is not an important government purpose (American Civil Liberties Union, 1996, pp. 14-15). In 1997, the General Accounting Office reported that heterosexual married couples enjoyed more than 1000 benefits and protections. These marriage incentives range from survivor benefits through Social Security, the ability to take sick leave from work to care for a sick partner, federal and state tax breaks and veteran and insurance benefits. They also include things like family discounts, obtaining family insurance through your employer, visiting your spouse in the hospital and making medical decisions if your partner is unable to (Belge, 2006). Following the enactment of the self-denial of Marriage Acts (DOMA), an amendment added to many states constitutional definition of marriage, many lawsuits have been filed all over the country against local and state governments whether or not they offer health insurance and other benefits to their employees unmarried domestic partners. DOMA prohibits the state governments from providing benefits to a dependent in a relationship that does not comply with the state