Same-Sex Marriage Inequality

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Same-sex marriage inequality is an issue that has been troubling American society since the birth of our country. More recently, the United States Supreme Court has tackled some frequently raised arguments that deal with same-sex marriage and our constitutional rights. In the case US vs. Windsor, the legal question: “Does the Defense of Marriage Act [...] deprive same-sex couples who are legally married under state laws of their Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection under federal law?” The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines the term “marriage” under federal law as a “legal union between one man and one woman”. The ultimate ruling of the case US v. Windsor declared that Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. The social and economic effects of the decision was not universal in effect, and unfortunately, since states retain power to allow or deny same-sex marriages, over nine-million Americans are still being stripped of their rights.
The concept of same-sex civil unions have throughout the history of society, but have always come attached with a stigma and a hugely divided audience of interest. In 1970, the first same-sex couple applied for a marriage license in Hennepin, Minnesota and were denied. The couple decided to try a different county and were granted their license. This led to the Supreme Court case Baker v. Nelson, which ended up being eventually dismissed under the grounds of “a want of a substantial federal question”. However, several other cases involving same-sex marriage in the US have led to Supreme Court cases deciphering and interpreting our constitutional rights. From Baker v. Vermont to Perry v. Brown, the Supreme Court has interpreted a handful of legal disputes questioning ...

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...recognition.” While a huge step in marriage reform was reached after DOMA Sect. Three was declared unconstitutional, financially, same-sex couples still lack some basic rights involved in domestic relationships. The generally negative stigma still remains and menaces millions of Americans. The up and coming generation of children, teens, and young adults are probably one of the most progressive generations, in contrast to the generation only one level above them. Currently, American government is in the hands of both generations, but primarily the generation of politicians that hide from social reform, and especially the issue of same-sex marriage. Once the current generation of young people is in power, legally, I feel that same-sex marriage will become more accepted, and legalized more widely, but the stigma of the matter may be ultimately removed by the voters.

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