Same-Sex Marriage
Same-Sex Marriage 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, and social structure 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 spouse's property, as well as pension and other rights. When two adults desire to "contract" in t
The case began in 1991 when three same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses by the Hawaii Department of Health brought suit in state court against the director of the department. In the United States, efforts to legalize same-sex domestic partnership have had some, limited success. Suppose a man wants a divorce, yet his wife does not or will not void their marriage. Unfortunately the full faith and credit clause has rarely been used as anything more then an excuse to get a quick divorce. 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 (Stoddard, 1997). The man may move back to his home state, and upon doing so this state must now recognize the legitimacy that Nevada has voided the marriage. However it would seem that by allowing individual states to alter and change what the meaning of marriage is, it could create a disaster if even heterosexuals want to wed. 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. This Article has often been cited as a reference point for interracial marriages in the south when those states do not want to recognize the legitimacy of that union by another state. While the marriage license law did not explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage at that time, it used terms of gender that clearly indicated that only heterosexual couples could marry. Hawaii law required couples wishing to marry to obtain a marriage license (New York Times, 1996). Finland provides governmental social benefits to same-sex partners. 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. Handbook on Uniform State Laws, United States Code, Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act. Just as the Supreme Court compelled states to allow interracial marriage by recognizing the claimed right as part of the fundamental constitutional right to marry, of privacy and of intimate association so should states be compelled now to recognize the fundamental right of homosexuals to do the same.
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Acceptance Essays
