Gays in US essays

Gays in US essays At this time, all states have an explicit ban on same sex marriages. Each state has gone at one time or another and made the decision to not allow same sex marriages. This primarily started in 1996 when conservatives and religious groups pushed through Congress, The Defense of Marriage Act which allows each state to set its own rules against, or for, same-sex marriages. Since then, the act and similar legislation has been adopted by 38 of the 50 states. Those congressional votes, and the passage of similar defense-of-marriage laws in 38 states, express an overwhelming consensus in our country for protecting the institution of marriage. Gay advocacy groups have been actively challenging the law, which they claim violates a constitutional equal rights guarantees, barring discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. This constitutional amendment comes at a time when individual states have started to make their own laws concerning the subject of same-sex marriages. San Francisco authorities have married over three thousand couples in a defiance of law and have made this a high-profile case. This is in direct violation of proposition 22 which was passed in March of 2000 by a 61% to 39% by the Californian voters, which calls for a ban on recognizing such marriages. This is one of the reasons that Bush has had to act so quickly on the banning of same-sex marriages. "A few judges and local authorities are presuming to change the most fundamental institution of civilization. Their actions have created confusion on an issue that requires clarity," Bush said in the ornate Roosevelt Room. Bush also noted that a constitutional provision known as the "full faith and credit" clause can be read to require all states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in just one state. "Marriage cannot be severed fro m its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society. Government, by recognizing and ...