I Now Pronounce You Husband and Husband?

Lawrence Edwards

Professor Baggins

Political Science 1101

14 April 2004

I Now Pronounce you Husband and Husband?

The controversial debate over whether same sex marriage should be legalized has gained a lot of attention in recent years and there are strong arguments for each side of the issue. There are many different factors that must be looked at when considering same-sex marriage. A marriage is not something that is just slapped on a piece of paper to show a couple's love; it involves legal, social, economic, and spiritual issues. Throughout this essay, I intend to focus on all of the issues just mentioned, and how all of these issues are interrelated in some way, shape or form. I will also pay attention to the state influence on marriage, how one state's decision affects another state's actions, and last how the legislation and courts deal with same sex marriage. While I am strongly against the marriage of individuals from the same sex for political, social, and personal reasons, I will be sure to include the pros and cons of each argument.

There have been a few states or towns that have allowed same sex marriage to take place, but in each of these cases a court later found the licenses granted to gay couples unconstitutional due to the Federal Defense of Marriage Act that was enacted in 1996. Soon afterwards, thirty-eight states followed with similar legislation. The act serves two purposes; first, it makes the "full faith and credit" clause null and void in regards to same sex marriage. Second, it puts in writing what has been understood under federal law for over 200 years: marriage is the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife, and a spouse is a husband or wife of the opposite sex. Many of the religions practiced in America established marriage as a sacred institution since the beginning of time.

These same spiritual beliefs of Americans are generally reflected in their moral beliefs, and a combination of the two set the expectations of society. Although the gay community makes up a small percentage of the American population, they have and will be very influential in our society. Our society sets many standards for people to live by, but often times these standards evolve through time in such a way that no one can predict. Slavery serves as a good example: A survey done in the 1700's of the American colonies would probably reveal a majority of people felt slavery was alright, some might have even pointed out that Christians used slavery in the past, as mentioned in the bible. Slowly the black population, who was clearly the minority, gained more and more support for freedom. While there are still Americans who do not see the black community as equals, it is safe to say that society as a whole believes discrimination against blacks is wrong.

While slavery is far more extreme of an issue than homosexuality, the two have some things in common. For example, during the civil war there were Americans on one side that supported an amendment to ban slavery and those on the other side who opposed it. Today there are citizens who support an amendment to ban same sex marriages just as there are those who are against legislation. Even though the black community sought out the slavery amendment and the gay community is trying to stop the amendment to ban same sex marriage, both minorities were trying to change a precedent in society. The gay community has evolved over the past fifty years in a similar course as the black community. Despite the fact that gay people were never put into servitude in twenty-first century America, they were the recipients of much discrimination. Through the years they have gained more and more acceptance from society. Nonetheless, the black community is still fighting for equal rights more than one hundred fifty years later, which means the gay community may have a long road ahead of them before they see true equality.

An important issue that can affect a politician's role in either supporting or contesting same sex marriage is the condition of the economy. There are many benefits that a gay couple would be provided with that would affect our nation's economy. In a matter of one month, there were 4,174 marriage licenses issued in just the city of San Francisco for same sex couples. If same sex marriage was legal in the entire country, there would be countless marriages and substantial effects on our economy. Not only would they receive numerous tax benefits, but if either one has health insurance their spouse will generally be covered under their plan. One might ask why that's such a big issue (Marry Me and Save).

The reason that this is a big issue is because gay men still remain the group with the greatest risk to contract AIDS. Generally, all healthcare plans cover this disease, and it could end up costing insurance companies ten's of thousands of dollars per infected policyholder per year. It is estimated that there are 250,000 Americans infected with HIV (Simon, Rita J 16-17). Even if only one thousand of the infected were gay and got married, it could cost insurance companies upwards of fifty million dollars. The insurance company will not pay this extra cost; they will simply raise the cost of insurance for all policyholders. For a HIV positive member of the gay community, the access to health insurance would be an obvious benefit and society cannot blame them to desire such a thing. On the other hand, is it fair that the outcome benefits the gay community and the average American citizen would pick up the bill through a higher cost of living.

Granted this is not a direct affect, but these types of chain reactions that might affect our nation's economy must be considered when deciding to support or contest same sex marriages. I do think homosexuals are entitled to some of the civil liberties that heterosexuals are, but I also believe the affects same sex marriage would have on the economy should be considered before opening the "flood gates." With