SAME SEX MARRIAGE
History of SSM
EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE
Child emperor Elagabalus referred to his chariot driver, a blond slave from Caria named Hierocles, as his husband
The first Roman emperor to have married a man was Nero, who is reported to have married two other males on different occasions
1993
SUPREME COURT
HAWAII
SC rules in Baehr v. Lewin that state statute limiting marriage to opposite sex couples is Unconstitutional
1998
SPAIN
Legalized Civil Unions
USA
CA signs Domestic partnership bill
2000
NETHERLAND
OK SSM
VOTE
YES 109
NO 33
Subtopic
2003
TX GAY SEX NO LONGER A CRIME BASED ON SC DECISION
2008
CA LEGALIZE SSM
2010
SUPREME COURT RULING that freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause
2011
NY LEGALIZE SSM
2016
On 26 June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in Obergefell v. Hodges that states cannot prohibit the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, or to deny recognition of lawfully performed out-of-state marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This ruling invalidated same-sex marriage bans in any U.S. State
5-4 VOTE THAT IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO PROHIBIT SSM TEXAS FOUGHT IT BUT THE SC DECIDED IT WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO BAN
SUPREME COURT
JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA SAID, "In a system of government that makes the people subordinate to a committee of nine unelected lawyers does not deserve to be called a democracy."
The decenters of the 5-4 ruling felt that the US SC had "usurped the right of the state and citizens to decide the matter themselves."
Marriage is the keystone of our social orderSubtopic
Texas view
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday dismissed state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to void the marriage of two Austin women who, thanks to an order from a district judge, tied the knot four months before same-sex marriage became the law of the land last June. Paxton argued that the marriage was invalid because it was based on an improper order by state District Judge David Wahlberg, but a unanimous Supreme Court dismissed Paxton’s challenge as moot because the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the state’s prohibition on gay marriage…
CONS
The institution of marriage has traditionally been defined as being between a man and a woman.In upholding gay marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee on Nov. 6, 2014, 6th US District Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton wrote that "marriage has long been a social institution defined by relationships between men and women. So long defined, the tradition is measured in millennia, not centuries or decades
Children need both a mother and a father.
Legalizing gay marriage could lead down a "slippery slope," giving people in polygamous, incestuous, bestial, and other nontraditional relationships the right to marry.
Allowing gay couples to wed could further weaken the institution of marriage.Traditional marriage is already threatened with high divorce rates (between 40% and 50%), and 40.7% of babies were born to unmarried mothers in 2012.
Gay marriage is contrary to the word of God and is incompatible with the beliefs, sacred texts, and traditions of many religious groups. The Bible, in Leviticus 18:22, states: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination," thus condemning homosexual relationships
PROS
Denying some people the option to marry is discriminatory and creates a second class of citizens.
Same-sex couples should have access to the same benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.
The concept of "traditional marriage" has changed over time, and the definition of marriage as always being between one man and one woman is historically inaccurate.
Gay marriage is protected by the US Constitution's commitments to liberty and equality.
Marriage is an internationally recognized human right for all people.Since 1888 the US Supreme Court has declared 14 times that marriage is a fundamental right for all, according to the American Foundation for Equal Rights
Same-sex marriage is a civil right.The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), on May 21, 2012, named same-sex marriage as "one of the key civil rights struggles of our time."
Marriage is not only for procreation, otherwise infertile couples or couples not wishing to have children would be prevented from marrying.
Gay marriages can bring financial gain to federal, state, and local governments and can help boost the economy.
Gay couples make good parents.A June 2014 peer-reviewed University of Melbourne study showed that children raised by same-sex parents score about six percent higher than the general population on measures of general health and family cohesion
Legalizing gay marriage will not harm the institution of marriage, and same-sex marriages may even be more stable than heterosexual marriages.