"Each individual's journey through life is unique. Some will make this journey alone, others in loving relationships - maybe in marriage or other forms of commitment. We need to ponder our own choices and try to understand the choices of others. Love has many shapes and colors and is not finite. It cannot be measured or defined in terms of sexual orientation." ( Same sex marriage and civil unions)
America’s population is growing, and the number of homosexuals is increasing as well. With the growing population of gays in America’s communities growing closer to 10%, the topic of gay marriage comes up time and time again. There are always two sides to each battle, and each side feels strongly on their decided opinions. The gay population seems to feel more strongly on this battle.
On November 18, 2003, Massachusetts legalized civil marriages. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a 4-3 favor that same sex couples can marry, saying that same- and opposite-sex couples must be given equal civil marriage rights under the state constitution. Massachusetts is the first state in the country to legalize gay marriage, but not the first place in the world. The Netherlands legalized gay marriage on April 1, 2001, being the first country in the world to do so. Belgium soon became the next country to legalize gay marriage, on January 30th, 2003.(Gay marriage in the Netherlands)
In recent polls in Massachusetts, done by WBZ news and the Boston Globe, it has been found that 53% of the state population supports the court’s decision. A second poll done by the Boston Herald shows that 49% of the population favors legalizing gay marriage. Polls also show that 44% oppose substituting gay marriage rights for civil unions, meaning people want to give the rights of marriage to same sex couples.
Vermont is the only other state in the United States that has anything along the lines of a partnership between same sex couples. On July 1, 2000, Vermont legalized civil unions.(Vermont Civil Unions) Up until the legalization of civil marriages in Massachusetts, civil unions were the deepest partnership shared between a same sex couple. Civil unions gave couples a handful of the rights a married heterosexual couple receives after ...
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...he views of the world. Without people being able to sit back and question the Bible, and question the view of God, there would be no room to grow.
Sometimes in life it takes a large person to stand up and discuss their views and standpoints on things. The people who take a stand and fight for gay rights should be applauded. Times are changing, and the world is opening their eyes to a great deal of things. Every person leads a unique life, who are we to say who they can and cannot marry? This country was founded on freedoms and it’s about time the people take advantage of what they were given.
References
US honors adoption groups, some pro-gay
www.planetout.com/pno/splash/html.
Survey: Most adoption firms allow gay parents
http://gay.com/news.article.html?2003/10/29/1
Same sex marriage and civil unions
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_marr.htm
Why make it legal
www.gay-civil-unions.com/html/why_make_it_legal.htm
How many faith groups are there in the United States?
http://www.religioustolerance.org/us_rel1.htm
Gay marriage in the Netherlands
http://www.instepnews.com/gaymarriage.html
Vermont Civil Unions
http://www.lmaw.org/vermont.htm
There are different kinds of friendship, ones that bring about certain goods for each other such as men of business or of some type of exchange. There also exists a state of friendship where pleasure is given, that in this state what is being given are pleasurable things and that each loves what is being given and as such continuous until such qualities cease to come
Since homosexual couples cannot get married in certain states; some states allow civil unions. Civil unions were created in 2000 in Vermont to give some responsibilities and legal protection to homosexual couples (Wolfson). Recently, civil unions have been declared as ineffective because it has created a second class citizenship. A civil union does very little for homosexual couples and do...
...es from having masculine characteristics to positive female ones and finally regresses to a low point of weakness and inadequacy. All she ever wanted was to be appreciated and noticed by men at an equal level, however, it never happened. Many women suffered, like Elisa, during this point in history. Steinbeck portrays the women of the past through Elisa’s isolated life in which she can not change. Inside she feels that she is a strong, dominant, female, but she never gets the opportunity to have her accomplishments noticed. After many failed attempts to bring herself to the same level as the men in her life, she sadly realizes that she will never be able to live up to her expectations she has for herself. Life was difficult for women during the 1930’s, however, without their fight for equality, women today wouldn’t have the great freedom and equality they possess.
An extremely capable women, Elisa Allen, armed with her scissors, clodhopper shoes, corduroy apron, and a man’s hat, seems to be anything but a demure, timid women. However, her husband, Henry, views her in a stereotypical way, seeing her as a helpless woman who is disinterested in practical concepts. Though he acknowledges she has “got a gift with things,” he limits her gifts to things that deal with a typical woman’s job: gardening. In addition, Henry jokes, “I wish you’d work in the orchard and raise some apples that big,” though he does not really except, or desire, her to leave the hobby of her flowers to perform “real” labor around the farm. Furthermore, after Henry decides to treat her to dinner, he playfully jokes with her about going to a boxi...
Elisa lives in a male-dominant society in which women are seen as less capable and as lesser citizens which reflects culture in 1930s America and present times to a lesser degree. This asymmetrical perception of women and men is ingrained into Elisa’s reality, and even when she is in her “place”, the garden that she greatly treasures, she cannot escape it. “She took off a glove and put her strong fingers down into the forest of new green chrysanthemum sprouts that were growing around the old roots” (229); that is to say beneath the surface, neither visible nor publicly recognized, lies the deeply-rooted beliefs of the old guard that Elisa can only hope to live around but never change them. This is again seen in the description of the salesman and his crew that visit Elisa on the evening depicted in the story, “It was an old spring-wagon, with a round canvas top on it like the cover of a prairie schooner. It was drawn by an old bay horse and a little grey-and-white burro” (230). In regard to the salesman, it is said that “Although his hair and beard were graying, he did not look old” (231). Based on this information, and assuming that the salesman is the antagonizing force in the story, it is these archaic beliefs that are holding Elisa back; she desires the open
Throughout history, women have been portrayed as the weaker sex. As a result of these unfair social assumptions, women have been working hard to dissociate themselves from this stereotype and become more independent with their lives. In the story “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck, he describes Elisa Allen's frustration with her marriage, her sense of isolation from the world, and her hidden desires to express herself as a woman and to explore her sexuality by living a more passionate life.
The narrative “The Chrysanthemums”, written by John Steinbeck, is a short story about a couple living in Sinas Valley. It follows the experience of Elisa Allen one winter day, and describes her life should as a farmer’s wife. The setting is placed in the past after cars were invented, but still back when caravans were not uncommon. Her becomes interested in the thought of living an independent life after talking to a man about his life traveling in a caravan. While she is intrigued by the thought of living in a caravan, she is held back by the thought that it is no life for a woman (851). This story illustrates the way that society assigns value to people depending on their gender roles, and how people can be held back from discovering their true potential because of the limits that society gives them.
Friendship expectations play a huge role in “establishing, maintaining, and terminating friendships” thus playing a factor of ones’ interpretations and through their affiliations (West & Turner, 2016). A companionship is dependent on
Domestic Violence Statistics states, “Around the world, at least one in every 3 women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime” (1). The United States Department of Justice defines domestic violence as, “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner” (para. 1). Domestic violence is a crime that numerous citizens fall victim to in every country. Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence regardless of race, gender, sexuality or religion. Being a victim of domestic violence can affect a person’s way of life permanently and the way these victims interact with other people can become a difficult task and can eventually affect their future. Domestic violence is substantially wrong because it can cause drastic permanent effects in a person’s life, can cause physical, emotional and intellectual damage, and affects a child’s state of mind of what is normal and what is not if they are in a domestic violent atmosphere. While women are usually victims of domestic violence, men are victims of this crime as well. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney states that, “According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, men account for approximately fifteen percent of the victims of reported intimate partner crimes” (Clark County Prosecuting Attorney, par.1). Physical, emotional, economic and physiological abuses are all forms of domestic violence that many people would consider to fall under another crime. There are many crimes that many citizens commit, but domestic violence is one of many that should not be taken lightly.
friendship that it is so valuable? And, more specifically, how does this truth fit with
... gay marriage should not be as controversial of a topic then it is. Even though there are religious thoughts about gay marriage and homosexuality, people are getting that information from books that were written millions of years ago and they are not even sure of who wrote them. Even though people are ultimately afraid of the unknown and change, both, which are included in legalizing gay marriage. I believe that people should brush up on their knowledge of homosexuality, gay marriage, and what gay marriage would do to our society before they make create an opinion about the matter; which could ultimately affect the opinion of people around them. I also believe that love is love no matter what way you think of it, we are all humans who just want the same rights for everyone. Imagine if you were in a gay persons shoes, would you think the same way about gay marriage?
Billboards, radio, and TV ads across the country proclaim that “every fifteen seconds a woman is beaten by a man.” Violence against women is clearly a problem of national importance, but has anyone ever asked how often men are beaten by women? The unfortunate fact is that men are the victims of domestic violence at least as often as women are. While the very idea of men being beaten by their wives runs contrary to many of our deeply ingrained beliefs about men and women, female violence against men is a well-documented phenomenon almost completely ignored by both the media and society.
One of the most important details in a friendship is to never leave or forsake the other. A friend is also loyal, for example in the movie Lord of the Rings, Froto and Sam Wise had a wonderful fellowship. They lived in peace and in one accord. Also in the movie, gandalf sent froto on a mission. Froto was scared and he didn’t want to go on the journey by himself.
Friendship is a relationship that all the individuals can create by themselves. Though it is not a god gifted relationship like that of the relationship of a mother, father, sister, brother or any of the other family but still it is one of the best relations an individual can possess. People who have true friends consider themselves as the luckiest individuals on earth.
Aromas we smell are processed in the limbic system of the brain which is where emotions and memories are stored. So we are literally tapping into a very deep part of the brain when sniffing a fragrance. There is no filter on the sense of smell either, so we drop into those emotions or memories instantly. This can happen out of the blue, when we least expect it. A stranger on the street might wear the same cologne as a first lover, causing us to feel breathless and sentimental. Perhaps the scent of a musty cabinet might smell exactly like grandmother’s attic where we used to play as a child triggering joyful memories. Scent is powerful. In products it might achieve a myriad of results like give us confidence, keep us calm, or make us feel sexy. A well-fragranced product should be a gift and tool for the