Gay Marriage

1
Gay Marriage

• Daisuke Kunii
• University of Oklahoma
• Current Problems in Human Relations

2
Gay Marriages should not be legally recognized?
(According to a CNN/USA Today/Group poll.
Oct.24-26, surveyed 1,006 people and had an error
margin of plus or minus three percentage points.)
3
Social change and Gay Marriage

• In the last decade, the civil rights of lesbians
  and gay men have become a prominent issue on the
  public agenda (Dupuis, 2002, p.1).
• As society changes, gay couples have began to
  appeal for rights equal to those of heterosexual
  couples, such as health insurance, bereavement
  leave, life-insurance, annuity and pension
  rights, housing rights, and adoption and
  inheritance rights.

4
What Supporters Say

• Gay marriage supporters believe that they should
  be guaranteed the same rights as heterosexual
  couples under the law.
• They hope that all public (as opposed to
  private) discrimination against homosexuals be
  ended and that every right and responsibility
  that heterosexuals enjoy as public citizens be
  extended to those who grow up and find themselves
  emotionally different (Finsterbusch, 2003,
  p.101).

5
What Opponents Say

• According to Vincent (2004), opponents of gay
  marriage believe it is immoral and diminished the
  sanctity institution.
• Their view is based on The Old and New Testaments
  of the Bible, which warn against homosexuality.

6
What the Courts say

• In the absence of clear guidance on the gay
  marriage issue from the nations highest court,
  state courts have entered the fight (Vincent,
  2004). In fact, The Supreme Court has yet to rule
  on gay marriage.
• Although it passed The Defense of Marriage Act
  (DOMA) in 1996, currently is nominal and some
  states courts made their original judgments in
  recent years.
• The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has
  cleaned the way for lesbian and gay couples to
  marry, ruling February 4, 2004 .

7
Gay marriage future

• Gay marriage issue has created a social dilemma.
• On the one hand, a large number of Americans
  believe that gay people should have equal rights
  with heterosexuals, consistent with democracy.
• On the other hand, many view gay people as
  morally wrong.