By: Caroline Moran, Lauren Balabon, Emily Duffy Gay Marriage By: Caroline Moran, Lauren Balabon, Emily Duffy

History First became major source of debate in 1990 Baehr vs. Levin Reached Supreme Court Ruled in favor of same sex marriages in Hawaii Gay marriage first became a source of debate in 1009 when a lesbian couple in honolulu applied for a marriage license and were denied. They publicized their issue and with the help of many gay rights and civil rights groups, they reached hawaiis supreme court. They won the case and in 1993 hawaii became the first state to allow same sex couples to apply for marriages licenses in the US

History Cont Conservatives voiced their immediate disapproval “Faith and credit” clause 1996 Clinton passed Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) DOMA stated marriage is between man and women only Faith and credit clause no longer applied to same sex marriages Conservatives were not happy because under the faith and credit clause, all marriages in hawaii would have to be formally recognized by all the other states. So to avoid this, congress passed the defense of marriage act in october 1996, bill clinton enthusiastically supported it and signed it weeks before he was reelected. The new federal law defined marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. It also stated that the faith and credit clause no longer applied to gay marriage, and therefore, any same sex marriage preformed in hawaii was not recognized by any of the other states.

History Continued In years following DOMA, 35 states passed laws enforcing DOMA (gay marriage isnt recognized) States are allowed to pass laws regarding civil unions and domestic partnerships Civil union > domestic partnership November 2003 Massachusettes Goodridge vs. Department of Public Health (same sex marriage legalized) From 1996 to 2001 after doma was passed, 35 states passed laws that reinforced doma and defined marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. 4 other states already had laws declaring marriage as a heterosexual institution. Then in 1998, hawaii outlawed gay marriage and voided the Bhaer decision. However, hawaii granted gay couples the right to establish a reciprocal beneficiary relationship which is a type of domestic partnership. At the same time, vermont passed a bill allowing same sex couples to be granted civil unions. Civil unions usually grant the same legal rights on the state level as marriages do, including child custody and divorce. However, on the federal level, they have less rights. For example, they cant jointly file federal income tax returns, get social securty benefits, or receive pension and death benefits if their partner dies. In 2003, massachusettes was the first state to legalize gay marriage. Accoridng to the courts chief justice margaret marshall, the massechusettes constitution forbids the creation of second class citizens.

More History 2004 San Francisco legalized gay marriage Later that year, law was reversed by Cali Supreme Court, making all marriages preformed nullified During the same time goodridge was taking place, san francisco mayor gavin newsom decided to permit same sex marriages in san francisco. A few Months later, the cali supreme court ordered the same sex marriages to stop because newsom had overstepped his authority by allowing them to occur. All marriages that had been preformed in san francisco were nullified.

History In 2004 Bush endorsed a planned amendment stating that marriage is an institution for heterosexuals Amendment would ban gay marriage nationwide Bush said it was necessary to “end the confusion” on the issue Amendment didn’t pass In response to the goodridge decision, president bush began endorsing a planned amendment to the constitution stating that marriage is a heterosexual instituion. This would ban gay marriage nationwide. He claimed it was necessary to end the confusion on an issue that needs clarity. 48 senators voted in support of the amendment, 50 in oppositon. In the house, 227 were in favor and 186 opposed. The amendment didn’t have enough votes to be passed.

History 2006, another attempt to amend the constitution and define marriage as a heterosexual institution Didn’t pass again In june 2006, short after civil unions were allowed in two new states, congress made another attempt to amend the constitution and ban gay marriage nationwide. However, the vote ended up beng very similar to the first one, and not enough votes were in favor to pass it.

Current Legislation MA, CT, IA, VT, NH, NY, and District of Columbia all issue same sex marriage licenses DE, HI, IL, NJ, RI all allow civil unions CA, NV, OR, WA allow domestic partnerships Whole issue is largely unsettled Currently, massechusettes conneticut iowa vermont new hampshire new york and the district of columbia all issue same sex marriage licenses to gay couples. Deleware, hawaii, ilinois, new jersey and rhode island allow cilvil unions, which grant more legal rights than domestic partnerships, and california, nevada oregon and washington all allow domestic partnerships.

PRO GAY MARRIAGE

PRO “Love. Honor. Commitment. Three simple words. They are the words that gay and lesbian couples feel in their hearts when they make a commitment to each other. That’s why the Human Rights Campaign believes that same-sex couples should be able to get married. Our campaign, Americans for Marriage Equality, is sparking a national conversation about the power of love, fairness and equality.” Denying the fight for two men or two women the right to marry is as cruel and absurd as it was to deny two straight people of different races to marry. The constitution of the United States guarantee everyone the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This guarantee alone should be enough to legalize gay marriage, since it’s hard to feel free (liberty) if you don’t have the right to marry the person you love (happiness). Same sex couples should have the same marriage benefits and public acknowledgment enjoyed by heterosexual couples and that prohibiting gay marriage is unconstitutional discrimination.

PRO Gay couples are denied significant rights when they are not allowed to marry, and this results in injustices. The arguments against the legalization of same-sex marriage do not merit the legal support of the state. (It’s the states job to not promote popular morality or opinion, but the rights of its citizens) There is no constitutional basis for denying gay couples marriage, and every constitutional reason why our government should actively pursue legalizing gay marriage and to ensure their inalienable right to pursuit of happiness in which every American is guaranteed.

PRO It is no one else's business if two men or two women decided to get married if they are in love. There is no such thing as traditional marriage. Gay marriage is protected by the constitution's commitments to liberty and equality. Denying same-sex couples the right to marry stigmatizes gay and lesbian families as inferior and sends the message that its acceptable to discriminate against them. Gay marriages can bring financial gain to state and local governments. Revenue from gay marriage comes from marriage licenses, higher income taxes and decreases its cost for the state benefit programs. Gay marriage will make it easier for same-sex couples to adopt children. Marriage provides both physical and psychological health benefits and recent research suggests the denying same-sex couples to marry results in harmful psychological effects.

PRO Allowing same-sex couples to marry will give them access to basic rights such as hospital visitation during an illness, taxation and inheritance rights, access to family health coverage, and protecting in the event of a relationship ending. Legalizing gay marriage wont harm heterosexual marriages or family values.

Political Cartoon PRO

CON 14th amendment conflict Equal protection under that law Goes against natural-law- unable to procreate [Catholic catechism, which states, "Homosexual acts...are contrary to natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life.“]– many against gays even adopting (discouraging procreation and traditional families) Research shows trends in “untraditional” families’ kids being less successful Ex. more likely to commit a crimes, drop out of school, become violent, become teen parents, use illegal drugs, become mired in poverty, or have emotional or behavioral problems (Republican stance)

Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman, giving gays the right to marry would violate a long-standing tradition Change the value of marriage- rendering it increasingly irrelevant to future generations Legalizing gay marriage is a slippery-slope- polygamy (multiple wives) and ‘polyamory’ (“group marriage”) – a variety of relationship contracts between couples and groups of people The nature of homosexuals- more promiscuous and would have trouble conforming to the monogamous (having one mate) demands of marriage

Republican Congress enacted Defense of Marriage Act - affirming the right of states not to recognize same-sex “marriages” licensed in other states Democratic Party pledged to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which would subject every state to the redefinition of marriage by a judge without ever allowing the people to vote on the matter (Republicans want to use) Article III, Section 2 power to prevent activist federal judges from imposing upon the rest of the nation the judicial activism in Massachusetts and California Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA)- passed by Congress in 1996-defined marriage for the first time under federal law as a union between a man and a woman (law)

"Traditional marriage is one of the last obstacles to the complete normalization of homosexuality in America," Combs argues.