Should Same-Sex Marriage Be Legalized Worldwide - Research Paper Example

Should Same-Sex Marriage be Legalized Worldwide? Abstract Same sex marriage is not a recent emerging issue in the contemporary world. There numerous cases where the ancient people especially in Greece, Egypt and Roman history were involved in homosexual acts. Over time, the desires of homosexual people have been suppressed by societal cultures and various religious beliefs, but these people are slowly gaining attention in global realm. The paper presents an argumentative essay in favor of same sex marriage countering the long standing negative notion directed towards homosexuals and their unions. It claims that same sex marriages should be allowed equal rights just as heterosexual marriages, as well as enjoyment of similar protections and benefits. Equality is fundamental and same sex marriages should also be constitutionally recognized. The definition of marriage should deviate from the ‘thicker’ religious perception to the ‘thin’ altered government definition to incorporate other marriages and enforce equality and respect for the rights of all people. The paper also argues that denying homosexuals rights to marriage is a denial of their rights in pursuit of happiness. Finally, it argues that though resistance could be high in other areas, the societies are slowly changing their perception and most nations have adopted or are in due process of recognizing same-sex marriages. Keywords: Homosexual, Same Sex Marriages, Straight Marriages, Heterosexual Marriages, Protections, Cultures, Beliefs, Equality, Pursuit of Happiness, Religion, Christian, Attitudes, Society, Rights, Government Introduction The issue of homosexuality has long history in the world. Its existence had always been suppressed by the social and political altitudes in the societies, which prevented the concerned parties from standing up for what they believed in. Allegedly, families have raised children and dictated what is needed of them. However, those who have demonstrated pure sexual attraction to people of the same gender have been condemned and are forced to change their preferences to suit others’ expectations. Some parents have gone far to reject their own children who choose to and uphold their position on same sex marriage. Cases of homosexuality can well be traced in the ancient times of Egyptians, Greeks and the Romans. Though not popular as in the contemporary world, the Christian dominated negative attitude of the same sex marriages has remained over time; the imposition of an Eskridge in the roman empire during the 4th century demonstrated the rising homosexual unions, which the empire was not willing to support (“Same sex,” 2011). Along the 20th century, homosexuals have sought for attention from their governments and around the world through supportive organizations developed to fight for homosexual rights. Currently, there exist competing ideologies of proponents and opponents of homosexual marriages. It is not only a social matter, but has taken the political dimension in pursuit for recognition. Some nations have adopted these marriages in their systems, but the issue still remains contentious in other places. Thesis: The paper expounds on the issue of homosexual marriages; it proposes that same sex marriages should be legalized around the world. It generates the argument based on justified claims of equality and rights, changing attitudes toward same-sex marriage, legal changes and pursuit of happiness. Through these stands, homosexual organizations defend same sex unions and counter the long-standing cultural and faith-based arguments that deny them recognition in the global scope. Religion, especially Islam and Christianity have been the major obstacles of same-sex marriages as they move to influence peoples’ social cultures and beliefs. Pursuit of Happiness It is quite unfortunate that what is happening with most governments is interference to individuals’ personal lives. Everyone deserves to be happy and marriage is one of the various channels that people choose pursue their happiness. This pursuit of happiness unfortunately, is only a blessing to heterosexual marriages. Gays and lesbians have rights to experience the same respect for their marriages and ought to be allowed to make personal decisions regarding whom they need to share their love experiences with, without governments’ intervention. Denying rights to same-sex couples is hence a violation of their right to pursuit of happiness. In the United States, the fore founding fathers set a path right from their declaration of independence; John Locke first expressed the moral ideology stating that “all men had to be allowed to pursue their happiness” without preventions, which today is embedded in the course for liberalism (Brennan, Fitzgibbon, Loveless & Destro, 2012, p. 325). It is equivalent to recommending and choosing partners for already determined homosexuals, which interferes with their feelings. Additionally, it sets homosexuals apart from the unalienable rights endowed to all humans. It is argued that dominant religious beliefs that reject homosexual marriages do not provide an opportunity for people to picture themselves in homosexual situations. While governments place bans and provide limited rights against the same-sex relationships, religious institutions force their opinions on people. Happiness for humans is most effective when they are at liberty to make their own choices and direct their paths. Perhaps people of different faiths opposing homosexuality could change their perception if an event occurred where they were are denied their right of worship; it’s in fact a closely related concept because it interferes with their liberty and demonstrates a similar feeling of what it means to be denied such a right. In pursuit of happiness, sound adults and consenting people should be at liberty to marry whomever they want and live their lives freely, without any form of coercion. Equality Claims There is no doubt that same sex couples have reasons similar to heterosexual couples, for entering in institutions of marriage. There is a mutual relationship based on love just as in straight marriages. On top of that, both cherish families and are ready to commit to one another. Proponents of same sex marriages hold that their marriage is equal to heterosexual marriages and should be equally treated with respect and protected by the constitution. However, the definition of what the government through the constitution takes marriage to be is a seized opportunity, which has been used to discriminate same sex marriages, denying them equality to straight marriages. According to Goddard (2013), “governments proposals simply to extend marriage to same sex couples on the basis of equality, which is the thin view of marriage that offer homosexual marriages certain equal rights to others” (p. 2). Unless the constitutions equally recognize the marriages, same sex couples are at a higher risk of being unfairly treated in social, political and economic aspects of their lives. Homosexuals are the minority in the larger population; meaning if left to the nations’ populations to dictate what the purpose and quality of marriage is exactly, the minority group will always be at a loss. Gays and lesbian couples have either partially or in some cases been denied certain rights like federal benefits and protections among others, which enjoyed by heterosexual couples. According to Feigen, “Massachusetts’ supreme judicial court established that same-sex couples had the constitutional right to marry and that anything less, such as civil unions, would confer impermissible second-class status ” (n.d., p. 352). While making a decision based on grounds of protection, the court held that the States’ constitution allowed individuals to enter into civil marriages with whomever they pleased or another person of either sex (Feigen, n.d.). This is a blow to the ‘thicker’ Christian concept of marriage that relies on the foundation of the inherently opposite sex character of marriage. Christian Faith’s Counter Argument The essence of opposite sex characters is significant in alignment to the supreme’s order of creation. It requires that the union of two (male and female) so that a family, which is the social unit here, can be established. The Holy Bible in Genesis 2: 24 embed the argument of the believers holding that only a man and a woman are created with a matrimonial purpose. In addition to that, they have been created with different sexualities, which are biological ways of human reproduction. Based on Paul’s teaching in the Bible, having defined God’s description of a man and a woman, Paul states that “each man has his own wife and each woman has her own husband…..let the man render to his wife the affection due to her and likewise also the wife to her husband.” They are allowed to consummate and engage in each other with commitment. This supports the continuous trend of procreation, where another generation is ushered in through right morals so that they grow into adults with the same vision of marriage. The argument arising from this is that two people of same sex are not aligned to the order of creation essential for marriage, and since they both have similar sexualities, they fail to fit in within the description of a marriage or a woman and a husband, implying that even the social good of procreation is impossible to achieve in same sex marriages. Unless governments separate themselves from religion, it would be impossible to offer justice to lesbian and gay couples. To offer justice to all regardless of the sexual partner they relate with requires governments and their constitutions to alter the definition of marriage. Given constitutional recognition, they would have the opportunity to experience similar benefits, rights and protections as others. Other than focusing on the religious and cultural based moral considerations connected to the state, more energy needs be directed in exploring the modern civilization of people, state’s legal equalities offered to all men, and ability to view homosexual marriage in terms of state neutrality. According to Griffith, allowing people of the same sex to marry prevents the development of the harmful ideologies that posits homosexual people to seem wrongful such that they are “treated separately to the rest of the society” (n.d., p. 3). This is the key to allowing them benefits like inheritance, insurance and child support and having them perceived in the right way. This would make any prohibition of same sex marriages unconstitutional. Changing Attitudes and Adoption Comparing the past and the present, peoples’ ways of living have changed not only in the western world, but also in the developing countries. Cultures have shifted and have been adopted by others in distant lands. As movement is made free across national borders, more people interact, share their cultures and perceptions on different ideas, thus shaping people’s lives. In most cases, same sex marriages have been legalized in various sections of the world, but have been short-lived after the courts overturned those decisions. Historically, there seemed to have been a wide division within the western societies over legalization of same sex marriages. Even the presidents were in the frontline in rejecting such marriages and any related benefits that same sex couples campaigned for. For example, President Bush in the USA “had called for an amendment to the federal constitution to block same-sex marriages nationwide” in his tenure, almost seven years down the line, the current President Obama publicly declared his support for same-sex marriage in the midst of his 2012 re-election campaign, and, less than a year later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional” (Hull, 2014). Remember that though is an issue mixed in political dimensions, leaders who support it or not, influence many of their supporters to what they believe. Although this is rampant in the western world, places like Africa have remained persistent to their traditional of heterosexual marriages. For examples in Uganda, the president signed into law an anti-gay policy, which made penalties tough for those who practice homosexuality, least to mention homosexual marriages. Addressing the western people, he uttered “we are sorry to see that you live the way you live, but we keep quiet about it. Now you say 'you must also live like us' -- that's where we say no…….President Museveni held that homosexual behavior was learned and could be unlearned” (Karimi & Thompson, 2014). Uganda is not alone in this; in fact the East African region wholly approves the Ugandan style. They do not recognize same sex marriages and have openly declared to remain adamant of their stand, regardless of the reactions of the western powers. The social structure of families in Africa remains intact, but homosexuality has been felt in most of their major cities like and coastal regions. It shows their existence is suppressed through legal policies, despite gathering the courage to come out. For the last two decades, many countries and states have revisited their earlier stand on same sex marriages, resulting to numerous cases of legalization in different nations. The negative attitude in USA has changed rapidly since 2005, and led by States like California, Massachusetts and Hawaii among a total 17 states to legalize same sex marriages, while others maintain constitutional and statutory bans (Botelho, 2014). Most regions of America and Europe have considered or are in the process of adopting same sex marriages and recognizing the overall civil rights of citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation. Though at a different pace, societies are slowly but eventually changing their attitudes towards homosexual marriages. At the advent of legal changes in most nations “some countries opened the way to the registration of homosexual unions in the context of registered cohabiting partner-ships (e.g. Norway), others accepted same-sex marriage establishing a direct equivalence with heterosexual couples (e.g. Sweden and Spain)” (Cortina, Laplante, Fostik and Martin, n.d.). Benefits to Governments and Society Respect for people’s choice on how they live their lives is vital for their general well being. When satisfied in their social lives, their psychological or emotional needs are catered for and can allow them to concentrate their energy in their respective roles or workplaces in their daily lives. It is vital that nations learn to accept and recognize homosexual people because they are part of the society and contribute to the economic growth of nations. Most of them for example, are experts in various fields and would serve best in different and even higher demanding ranks of businesses. Regardless of the sexual orientation, respect to this diversity is necessary as it would promote foreign investments, allow employees to be treated equally and protected even in foreign lands, as long as homosexuality and homosexual marriages are recognized (Griffith, n.d.). This provides an environment where people would not be judged for whom they are thus can be true to themselves, and can work satisfactorily to their capacity. Revenue can be increased from a higher number of marriages, and can be used in other development areas. Other than perceiving such marriages to destroy the community, today there many children adopted in such families and can be provided for maximally, hence being able to live better lives than those on the streets. Conclusion The social world has changed and the perception of marriage does not need to remain the same. Though religious beliefs and cultures have always been deeply embedded in the construction of a marriage institution from the union of a man and woman, this needs to change as it alienates others and serves to deny same sex relationships a legal status. Nations need to make legal changes and constitutionally recognize same sex marriages. Reference List Botelho, G. (2014, May 21). State-by-State: A Frenzied Few Months on the Same-Sex Marriage Front. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/21/justice/same-sex-marriage-state-breakdown/. Brennan, P. M., Fitzgibbon, S., Loveless, A.S. & Destro, R.A. (2012). Symposium on Whether Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage Is Constitutionally Required—2012 II. Equality Mandates for Same-Sex Marriage in Theory and Principle. BYU Journal of Public Law 27. Retrieved from http://www.law2.byu.edu/jpl/papers/v27n2_Patrick_Brennan.pdf. Cortina, C., Laplante, B., Fostik, A. & Martin, T.C. (n.d.). Same Sex Marriages and Partnerships in Two Pioneer Countries, Canada and Spain. Retrieved from http://www.iussp.org/sites/default/files/event_call_for_papers/IUSSP_Cortina_Laplante_Fostik_Castro-Martin.pdf. Feigen, B. (2004). Same-Sex Marriage: An Issue of Constitutional Rights not Moral Opinions. Havard Women’s Law Journal, 27. Retrieved from http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlg/vol27/feigen.pdf. Godard, A. (2013). Reframing the Same Sex Marriage Debate. Ethics in Brief, 18 (4). Retrieved from http://www.law2.byu.edu/jpl/papers/v27n2_Lynn_Wardle.pdf. Griffith, M. (n.d.). The Case for marriage Equality in Ireland: Marriage Equality’s Submission to the Constitutional Convention. Retrieved from http://www.marriagequality.ie/download/pdf/final_me_constitutional_convention_submission.pdf. Hull K. E. (2014, March 27). Same Sex Different Attitudes. Retrieved from http://thesocietypages.org/papers/same-sex-different-attitudes/. Karimi, F. & Thompson N. (2014, February 25). Uganda's President Museveni Signs Controversial Anti-Gay Bill into Law. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/world/africa/uganda-anti-gay-bill/. Same Sex Unions throughout Time: A History of Gay Marriage. (2011, February 4). Retrieved from http://www.randomhistory.com/history-of-gay-marriage.html. Read More