Running Head : GAY MARRIAGE BAN : A VIOLATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS?
Gay Marriage Ban: A Violation of Constitutional Rights?
Mary Weyeneth
Axia College
University of Phoenix
Gay Marriage Ban: A Violation of Constitutional Rights?
For most of American history, the subject of homosexuality has been treated as a taboo. Today, more and more gays and lesbians have come out in the open and expressed their sexuality freely. Recognizably, people too have changed their attitudes towards homosexuals. Even the concept of homosexuality which used to be considered a psychological abnormality was deleted from the list and is now classified as a normal state. Homosexuals went along with the drive of women against gender discrimination. But despite all these developments, the homosexuals’ clamor for rights and protection has become stronger . In 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act was passed that changed the definition of marriage and limited the legality of gay marriages within the states that recognized them. This constitutes a ban on gay marriages. This gave rise to the controversial issue whether the government’s move to ban gay marriages is a violation of constitutional rights. This paper presents factual bases to support of the position that gay marriage ban is a violation of constitutional rights. It also presents arguments for and against this position.
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Figure 1 Bill of Rights
Marriage Defined
To come up with a sound basis for discussion, a random search for meanings of the word “marriage” was done by this researcher. This search revealed conflicting versions. Encarta encyclopedia referred to marriage as “a legally recognized relationship between two people who intend to live together as sexual and domestic partners” Columbia encyclopedia refers to it as, “a socially sanctioned union that reproduces the family”. For Wikipedia Encyclopedia, “marriage is an interpersonal relationship with governmental, social, or religious...