Legalizing Gay Marriage

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Legalizing Gay Marriage

The battle over Gay marriage in the United States reached a fever

pitch during the presidential election of 2004. The issue vaulted into

prominence when the Democratic mayor of San Francisco flouted state

law and performed marriage ceremonies for Gay couples. Conservatives

claim that the issue catapulted them into power by motivating

fundamentalist Christian voters to turnout in order to defeat

anti-gay-marriage amendments in eleven states, including the crucial

swing state Ohio. Liberals retort that fundamentalist Christian

turnout in 2004 was statistically even to 2000. Regardless of the

truth of that statement, what cannot be denied is the attention the

issue of Gay marriage has received over the past year. While I believe

that a national law allowing Gays to marry remains extremely distant

on the political horizon, I believe that what is likely is that states

will choose to give Gay couples the right to form civil unions. As Gay

couples begin to form these unions and enjoy the legal status that

they will provide them, the populace at large will become increasingly

accustomed to the idea. I believe that Civil Unions will eventually

lead to full-fledged Gay marriage, but that this process will take

some time.

Marriage became a preponderant issue in the presidential election this

year because it is at heart an extremely personal and emotional issue

for many Americans. For homosexuals, the institution of marriage is

viewed as a societal vindication of a couple’s status that is denied

to gays. The issue, gay marriage activists argue, is one of equality.

Homosexuals are denied the legal rights and privileg...

... middle of paper ...

...vists

should take heed from this historical fact, and settle in for the long

haul. In this haul, civil unions will take some of the pressure off

and soften the public to the notion of gay couples, and eventually, to

the notion of gay marriage. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Works Cited

Forelle, Charles and Bank, David; “Gay Agenda is Seen as Rallying

Point: Some Democrats Suggest Same-Sex Marriage Issue Cost Kerry the

Presidency,” The Wall Street Journal, November 5, 2004.

Haslett, Adam; “Love Supreme: Gay Nuptials and the Making of Modern

Marriage,” The New Yorker, May 24, 2004.

Hirsch, Alan; “If Gay Marriage is the Question, Civil Unions Aren’t

the Answer: Separate but Equal,” The Village Voice, February 11-17,

2004.

Jacoby, Jeff; “Down the Slippery Slope,” The Boston Globe, November

20, 2003.

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