Gay Marriage Philosophy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gay Marriage Philosophy - Research Paper Example These arguments make gay marriage one of the largely unsettled issues in our society. And this issue will not likely be settled in the contemporary context where conservatives and liberals seem to be bound to contradict each other in almost all issues and points of discussion. This paper shall discuss the thesis: The government has no right to enact laws which ban marriage between individuals of the same gender. It shall clarify arguments for both sides of the issue and state which side of the issue is better defended. This topic is being discussed in the hope of establishing a clear and comprehensive assessment of the issue. Discussion The provision of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution which is relevant to this issue is in Section 1 which partly reads â€Å"†¦no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process o f law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws† (as cited by Cornell University, n.d). These provisions can be used as the basis for gay marriage being a constitutionally protected right. The right to marry between two consenting individuals of legal age can be justified under the right to equal protection of laws. There are however opposing arguments to the legal allowance given to gay marriage. An initial discussion of opposing argument shall be considered below. Against same-sex marriages Those who argue against the same-sex marriages argue that marriage is a legal union between a man and a woman, and as such, two men and two women cannot be afforded the same protection as a man and a woman seeking to marry (Zambrowicz, 1994). Various courts have also cited technical and dictionary meanings of marriages which indicate that it is a union of a man and a woman, and there is no mention of same-sex unions in these definitions. Other opponents to same-sex marriage also set forth that based on the laws today, gay marriages are an oxymoron; meaning, it is an act which does not exist because the legal mandate is still based on the union of man and woman (Duncan, 1996). The argument against gay marriages is also largely based on tradition – a global tradition that gay marriages are largely prohibited in most countries of the world. The US will not likely be the first nation in the world which shall discard the concept of traditional marriages; it will not likely be the first state to express that gay marriages are as important as heterosexual marriages (Willett, 1997). References to traditions and customs were also seen in the case of Jones v. Hallahan where the state expressly stated that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. Same-sex marriage has consistently been disallowed by the courts, with these courts further arguing that marriages must be between a man and a woman (Willett, 1997). Another argument establ ished by opponents to same-sex marriage is that these marriages are basically tied in with procreation. The inability of procreation between same-sex marriages negates support for the institution (Franke, 2006). In the case of Singer v. Hara, the court established that denying marriage licenses to two male parties was not considered gender discrimination, however, it was based on the state’