In a society were quarrels are
developed easily, one battle stands out, Gay Marriage. The dominant parties, Republican and
Democrat, have carefully delayed an official party platform until days before
their respective conventions. The
Republican Party has stated they oppose not only gay marriage, but also any
civil unions not between a man and a woman. The Democrats have affirmed their support for legal marriage
between people of the same sex.
The unique aspects of this disconnect are the respective reasons for why
gays could either marry or not marry.
Both sides believe their opinion is valid, but based on the only
legitimate body in our government, both sides are misguided.
A quintessential idea among
conservatives is to preserve the framer’s desired form of government. Although it is nearly impossible to
derive the exact form of government they wished for without conjecture, the
conservative party has deemed that our founding fathers believed marriage was
between a man and a woman, exclusively.
The telescoping bias that this idea generates, only solidifies the
invalidity of this perception. If
the framer’s believed that marriage was an issue in which the government can
intervene, why did they not establish that in the constitution? Many opponents to the conservative
reasoning propose that this ideology is derived from the bible, where it
clearly states that a man shall not love another man. The bible is a legitimate method of governance to many
people in the nation, but, the founding fathers did espouse numerous times that
the government shall be free of any religious control. Many conservative ideologists have
stated that since congress has not amended the constitution, and since the Supreme Court has not
declared gay marriage constitutional, than marriage should remain between a man
and woman. This unique belief is
sound, but it does not clearly explain why gay people cannot get married, it
simply diverts the issue.
Many citizens believe that the gay
community is being ostracized and dehumanized because of their sexual
preference. To support their platform on gay marriage, liberal ideologues have
stated that marriage is a right given to every citizen of this country. The constitution does not explicitly
state that marriage is a right granted to every citizen, therefore, the
liberals have no legal evidence. Liberals often proclaim that our framer’s
designed this country to ensure every man is created equal. Unfortunately for the liberals, this
idea was placed in the declaration of independence, a document that does not
possess legitimacy among our government.
This argument boils down to legal
legitimacy. There are only two
ways in which gay marriage can be made constitutional, either the constitution
is amended by congress and the states, or the Supreme Court rules in favor of
gay marriage. Although it is
difficult to accurately predict what the framers believed, the authors of our
constitution did insert a very powerful provision, the tenth amendment. The tenth amendment accounts for the
adaptation of our society to modern times, and diverts power to the states to
decide what is constitutional and what is not, if it is not explicitly stated
in the constitution. The great
duality of federalism allows for citizens of decide the outcome of this
issue. The only true
constitutional way for this idea to be resolved is to leave it up to the state
legislatures.
Giving power to the states also
promotes democracy. Candidates can
now ensure to voters their belief, and this will allow voters to select
candidates who will vote the same way their constituency votes. If a state population is in favor of
gay marriage, it is the state’s duty to elect members of the legislature who
will pronounce gay marriage legal.
Many states have already begun to litigate on this issue, but many are
waiting for the federal government to issue a ruling. Both arguments contain emotional legitimacy but no legal
legitimacy. It is difficult to
discern which side is correct, many voters often decide based on instinct or
previous experiences. As society
grows more progressive, gay marriage will gain enough supporters to be
proclaimed constitutional, but the conservative coalition is a prominent force
in today’s politics and shows no signs of being stymied. This issue will continue to draw
controversy until it is legally decided.
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