"The Tides Have Turned"
Kristin Ohannesian
November 1, 2014
Today the issue of same-sex marriage is very controversial. Some are completely against the idea. For example, Christians believe it says in the Bible that gay marriage isn't acceptable. God created Adam and made him a companion; that person being a woman. Believers think this is the only way it should be. Others support gay marriage and are for it being legalized. Same-sex marriage pits religious people against the freedom of individuals to do as they please.
The movement to obtain civil marriage rights began in 1970. From that time, support of gay marriage has increased dramatically. As of 17 October 2014, thirty-one states in the United States issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize marriages from other jurisdictions. In 2012, President Barack Obama was the first president to publicly declare support for legalization of same-sex marriage. Things have come a long way.
The situation used to be interracial marriages that people were concerned about. In some states, it was even considered a felony and punishable up to five years in a state penitentiary. In the case Loving v. Virginia, Mildred Loving, a black woman and Richard Loving, a white man were sentenced to a year in prison in Virginia for marrying each other. Public opinion then was against interracial marriages. Looking back we can how ludicrous it is that we ever thought this was a problem. Since the 1967 Supreme Court decision nullifying laws prohibiting interracial marriage, there are now no laws banning this type of marriage.
At present, public opinion again is trying to be the deciding factor for same-sex marriage. The mass opinion shouldn't dictate judicial decisions. It wasn't right back then and it isn't right now. Today the U.S. federal court is using interracial marriages as precedent for making restrictions on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. History has a way of teaching us lessons and giving us the means for change.
When you think about it, same-sex marriage isn't hurting anyone; just like how interracial marriage never did—unless you account for the hurt sustained by these people hurled by others against it. People just need something to be against and hate and this issue makes it easy for them to do.
These laws making it unconstitutional to ban marriage show that, at some point, all states will surely issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. How long that may take is yet to be determined. But what is for sure that homosexual people are still people and deserve the same rights as other people. It shouldn't matter who they pick to spend their life with and who makes them happy. That's a choice that they should get to make. People just have a hard time accepting what is unknown to them. Thats human nature. But I think we should work harder to have open minds and be a more accepting society. This trend is already occurring with some people. Let's continue it.
Works Consulted
Goetting, N. (2013). Gay marriage is a fundamental right. National Lawyers Guild Review, 70(3), 137-144.
Hart: The Supreme Court rightfully demurs on gay marriage - News - The Destin Log. (2014, October 17). Retrieved from http://www.thedestinlog.com/news/hart-the-supreme-court-rightfully-demurs-on-gay-marriage-1.388320
Mathabane, G. (2004). Gays face same battle interracial couples fought. USA Today, 13.
Monsma, S. (2014). (Re)Defining marriage: Changes and challenges. Journal for the Sociological Integration of Religion & Society, 4(1), 23-32.
Same sex marriages, what does the Bible say? ChristianAnswers.Net. (2002). Retrieved from http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-f018.html
Sullivan, A. (2012). The president of the United States shifted the mainstream in one interview. Newsweek, 159(21), 22-25.
