The Need for Full Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage - Essay Example

In the article, Gomes also suggests why the issue of same-sex marriage is so controversial and the various arguments held by the advocates as well as critics of same-sex marriage. Therefore, Gomes's article has made a central contribution to the understanding of the various issues concerning same-sex marriage. According to the article by Gomes, there are several reasons why the advocates of same-sex marriage believe that it should be made legal. The advocates of same-sex marriage argue that individuals have the prime right to enjoy their freedom and any attack against the practice should be treated as an assault against their personal liberty.

According to the article, "The failure to recognize same-sex marriage and to allow adoption by non-biological life partners results in a harmful lack of legal protections for children of gay parents. Non-biological same-sex partners can most easily be compared with stepparents in heterosexual marriages." (Gomes, 15) It is also important to realize that the practice cannot be considered as violating the laws of nature and it is the biological make-up of such people that makes them follow the practice.

Therefore, the government and society need to cater to the needs and rights of same-sex couples and ensure that their liberty is not curtailed. The article also provides convincing arguments against same-sex marriage which have been raised by the various critics of the practice. Thus, it has been viewed as a practice that usually distorts the sanctity of marriage in traditional terms. They also argue that it is against social and religious ethics and it violates the laws of nature and biology.

According to Gomes, it is the religious reasons rather than legal principles that run behind the arguments against the practice of same-sex marriage. "Arguments against same-sex marriage usually focus on the sanctity of marriage as a procreative union between a man and a woman Furthermore, arguments against same-sex marriage usually rest on religious rather than legal principles A popular argument propounded by conservatives is that a host of social ills will result from legal recognition of gay marriage.

" Therefore, there have been several crucial arguments raised by the critics of same-sex marriage. Today, the practice is not generally accepted in most nations and it is not legalized in the US. The attempts for the legalization of same-sex unions recently in California were not supported by many and there soon followed a ban on the practice which was supported by most of the members.