punkonjunk1024
02-27-2005, 11:33 PM
Yeah, so I wrote a paper today... due tomarrow... should have been working on it for a week.
Anyhow, I originally talked to gannonator about this in mIRC, and have been thinking about it since... Russ's POV is ingenious. Suddenly, we needed a controversy paper, and what do I already have sources for/is bearing on mind? Viola! this only took 5 hours. Tell me what you think.
Curtis 1
Jake Curtis
English 11
Controversy paper
Same-sex Marriages and Civil Unions
Gay marriage is a very controversial topic. Closely related is the concept of civil unions. Both are heatedly debated social issues, relating to ethics, and Christian morals. Battling for years for rights and understanding, gays seem to be losing this battle. Amendments to state’s constitutions are always looming over head, and impending tragedy – an amendment to the US constitution. I believe that because of extreme controversy, and the Christian morals our country is built on, defining marriage in the constitution solely between a man and a woman would be acceptable on the grounds that civil unions are created to be exactly as equal for GLBT couples to unite under.
There are two defined stances for gay marriage, and civil unions – for, and against. First, a definition of both civil unions and marriage would be appropriate - Marriage is defined as “The legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife,” While a civil union is defined as “a legally recognized and voluntary union of adult parties of the same sex.” Essentially, these are the same thing, but there are many conflicts. First of all, the legalities of civil unions are fuzzy, also, gays are banned from civil unions in many states.
Curtis 2
For example, an article mentions – “In Orlando, the Florida coalition to protect marriage, registered as a statewide political committee, announced that the amendment would
define marriage exclusively as “the legal union of only one man, and only one woman as husband and wife.” The group’s proposal emphasizes that “no other legal union that is treated as marriage” would be valid or recognized by the state.” (Diaz 1) The mentioned committee in this article is striving to prevent unions for same sex couples of any sorts. This is only an example for Florida, but there are people fighting for the same cause in every state. On the other side, there are those who are for marriage, and/or civil unions. One such case is what Gavin Newsom did as mayor of his city – “ …after just a month in office, he allowed nearly 4,000 same sex couples to wed at city hall despite a state ban on gay marriage.” (Streisand, 1)As a strait, married catholic, this was a big risk, plunging him into the state’s spotlight, and making him many opponents. Yet, he was standing for what he believed in, religion and political position aside, earning him a lot of support.
The attacks on gay marriage are poorly founded, and illogical, spanning from religious, to ethical standpoints. Religiously speaking, the act of homosexuality is attacked on a few occasions in the Old Testament of the Bible – “God sent "eternal fire" on the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for "going after strange flesh." ” (God, Jude 1:7-8) Of course, homosexuality is attacked many times in the old testament, as are the foods you can eat, sexual acts, and many other laws put into place in Leviticus. Attacks or condemnations of homosexuality are nowhere to be found in the
Curtis 3
New Testament; this means that the only religious claims against homosexuality belong solely to those of the Jewish faith. In relation to social ethics, only decades ago did we grow from viewing homosexuality as a trait, instead of a disorder. Like slavery, people have grown to be more and more understanding of the concept behind homosexuality, and eventually, I believe intolerance will be phased out. This very well could be the case, but the Christian religion will always have claims against it.
My support on same sex marriages and civil unions is complex. One would think that with the given information, that I support gay marriage, but because of the circumstances and opinions of it, in addition to the heavy Christian morals of our president, I feel that allowing marriages between two same sex people will forever be a burden on our country, and the Christian religion. I believe that Civil unions implemented in the US as an alternative to marriage, exactly equal, but for Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transvestite couples. Currently, the standings for civil unions is: Minnesota has banned gay marriage since 1997, but same sex couples are granted benefits. In Colorado, state law prohibits gay marriage, but legislators will propose a civil union bill this session. In Utah an amendment barring gay marriage is moving through legislature. In Texas, the supreme court struck down a ban on sodomy last summer; lawmakers in Bush’s hometown are launching an amendment forbidding gay marriage. In Hawaii state court approved gay marriage in a 1993 decision, but this was shot down 5 years later. Vermont has had a civil union law passed, granting the same benefits for gays as married heterosexuals. In Massachusetts, the state
Curtis 4
supreme court has allowed gay marriages. In South Carolina, gay marriage has been banned since 1996. (Sadin, 24) Little work has been successful in creating gay marriage, as demonstrated. However, some headway has been made for civil unions. I feel that the morals against homosexuals are idiotic – to hate gays for the simple reason that they are gay is no different from racism, or sexism. Eventually, I feel that these will all be phased out, along with homophobia. Religious points will always exist, but even the Jewish faith makes exceptions to its law.
Both the concept of Gay marriages and civil unions has been explained. There is a high amount of controversy surrounding these, relating to the social issues, ethics, and Christian morals. There has been an ongoing fight for understanding, and I hope that in time, people will grow to be more understanding, and civil unions will grow to be equal and widely available as an alternative to marriage.
Works Cited
Diaz, Madeline . "Groups use valentine's day to launch anti gay marriage petition." Sun-sentinel 2 15 2005
Streisand, Betsy. "Doing it his way by the bay." Us news and world report 21 feb 2005, 1p, 1c.
God, Many Prophets/deciples. The Holy Bible. Heaven: God, 0 AD.
Sadin, Meredith. "The State of the (civil) Union." Newsweek febuary 2004: 24.
Yeah, copied exactly from teh paper.... I spent alot of time on it, sorry if it comes off a bit retarded/poorly said, I shouldn't have procrastinated.
Anyhow, I originally talked to gannonator about this in mIRC, and have been thinking about it since... Russ's POV is ingenious. Suddenly, we needed a controversy paper, and what do I already have sources for/is bearing on mind? Viola! this only took 5 hours. Tell me what you think.
Curtis 1
Jake Curtis
English 11
Controversy paper
Same-sex Marriages and Civil Unions
Gay marriage is a very controversial topic. Closely related is the concept of civil unions. Both are heatedly debated social issues, relating to ethics, and Christian morals. Battling for years for rights and understanding, gays seem to be losing this battle. Amendments to state’s constitutions are always looming over head, and impending tragedy – an amendment to the US constitution. I believe that because of extreme controversy, and the Christian morals our country is built on, defining marriage in the constitution solely between a man and a woman would be acceptable on the grounds that civil unions are created to be exactly as equal for GLBT couples to unite under.
There are two defined stances for gay marriage, and civil unions – for, and against. First, a definition of both civil unions and marriage would be appropriate - Marriage is defined as “The legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife,” While a civil union is defined as “a legally recognized and voluntary union of adult parties of the same sex.” Essentially, these are the same thing, but there are many conflicts. First of all, the legalities of civil unions are fuzzy, also, gays are banned from civil unions in many states.
Curtis 2
For example, an article mentions – “In Orlando, the Florida coalition to protect marriage, registered as a statewide political committee, announced that the amendment would
define marriage exclusively as “the legal union of only one man, and only one woman as husband and wife.” The group’s proposal emphasizes that “no other legal union that is treated as marriage” would be valid or recognized by the state.” (Diaz 1) The mentioned committee in this article is striving to prevent unions for same sex couples of any sorts. This is only an example for Florida, but there are people fighting for the same cause in every state. On the other side, there are those who are for marriage, and/or civil unions. One such case is what Gavin Newsom did as mayor of his city – “ …after just a month in office, he allowed nearly 4,000 same sex couples to wed at city hall despite a state ban on gay marriage.” (Streisand, 1)As a strait, married catholic, this was a big risk, plunging him into the state’s spotlight, and making him many opponents. Yet, he was standing for what he believed in, religion and political position aside, earning him a lot of support.
The attacks on gay marriage are poorly founded, and illogical, spanning from religious, to ethical standpoints. Religiously speaking, the act of homosexuality is attacked on a few occasions in the Old Testament of the Bible – “God sent "eternal fire" on the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for "going after strange flesh." ” (God, Jude 1:7-8) Of course, homosexuality is attacked many times in the old testament, as are the foods you can eat, sexual acts, and many other laws put into place in Leviticus. Attacks or condemnations of homosexuality are nowhere to be found in the
Curtis 3
New Testament; this means that the only religious claims against homosexuality belong solely to those of the Jewish faith. In relation to social ethics, only decades ago did we grow from viewing homosexuality as a trait, instead of a disorder. Like slavery, people have grown to be more and more understanding of the concept behind homosexuality, and eventually, I believe intolerance will be phased out. This very well could be the case, but the Christian religion will always have claims against it.
My support on same sex marriages and civil unions is complex. One would think that with the given information, that I support gay marriage, but because of the circumstances and opinions of it, in addition to the heavy Christian morals of our president, I feel that allowing marriages between two same sex people will forever be a burden on our country, and the Christian religion. I believe that Civil unions implemented in the US as an alternative to marriage, exactly equal, but for Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transvestite couples. Currently, the standings for civil unions is: Minnesota has banned gay marriage since 1997, but same sex couples are granted benefits. In Colorado, state law prohibits gay marriage, but legislators will propose a civil union bill this session. In Utah an amendment barring gay marriage is moving through legislature. In Texas, the supreme court struck down a ban on sodomy last summer; lawmakers in Bush’s hometown are launching an amendment forbidding gay marriage. In Hawaii state court approved gay marriage in a 1993 decision, but this was shot down 5 years later. Vermont has had a civil union law passed, granting the same benefits for gays as married heterosexuals. In Massachusetts, the state
Curtis 4
supreme court has allowed gay marriages. In South Carolina, gay marriage has been banned since 1996. (Sadin, 24) Little work has been successful in creating gay marriage, as demonstrated. However, some headway has been made for civil unions. I feel that the morals against homosexuals are idiotic – to hate gays for the simple reason that they are gay is no different from racism, or sexism. Eventually, I feel that these will all be phased out, along with homophobia. Religious points will always exist, but even the Jewish faith makes exceptions to its law.
Both the concept of Gay marriages and civil unions has been explained. There is a high amount of controversy surrounding these, relating to the social issues, ethics, and Christian morals. There has been an ongoing fight for understanding, and I hope that in time, people will grow to be more understanding, and civil unions will grow to be equal and widely available as an alternative to marriage.
Works Cited
Diaz, Madeline . "Groups use valentine's day to launch anti gay marriage petition." Sun-sentinel 2 15 2005
Streisand, Betsy. "Doing it his way by the bay." Us news and world report 21 feb 2005, 1p, 1c.
God, Many Prophets/deciples. The Holy Bible. Heaven: God, 0 AD.
Sadin, Meredith. "The State of the (civil) Union." Newsweek febuary 2004: 24.
Yeah, copied exactly from teh paper.... I spent alot of time on it, sorry if it comes off a bit retarded/poorly said, I shouldn't have procrastinated.