Why is gay marriage illegal?

Question

what difference does it make to the government if 2 gay people get married? and why should i care if 2 gay people get married? it doesn't effect me one way or another. who gives a s*iT.

i'm a straight male but i'm just curious. just because the politicians don't agree with it, why does it need to be illegal? isn't that taking basic human rights away from the gay community?

Answer 1

It isn't "illegal". What states are arguing about is how marriage is defined. The church defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, so the states typically (in the past) have followed that definition. But in recent years, people have begun to question if it is legal to define marriage in that way due to it discriminating against homosexuals (illegal), as well as violating the separation of church and state.

Wisconsin got around it by making any union without the benefit of marriage illegal. Meaning, technically, a couple (homosexual, heterosexual or otherwise) can't live together and become "commonlaw" married. In the past, if a couple lived together as a couple for over 10 years, they were married in the eyes of the law. But the homophobes in WI went crazy on the last election about it, and voted it away. So they are not discriminating against the homosexual community - they are protecting the businesses.

There is one thing that is an issue with all of it - you can't legislate morality. That is what everyone is fighting about, and they try to, but to no avail. Just because the bible says it is wrong is not (legally) a reason to make it illegal in the eyes of the law. As long as they try to do that, they will be struck down by any supreme court in the land.

Answer 2

I am not gay or lesbian. I do know that the laws and the time we live in have not caught up with one another. Gays are supposed to be allowed equal rights. (Kind of like the women who had to go to the law in order to get the right to vote and all that). The worst thing that can happen, is for two gay men to share a life together, working, sharing bills, sharing all finances, and one gets very ill without having made out a will BEFORE family members could go to Court and say that the person who had died was not in his/her right mind when the will was made. What I see happening, and it DOES.........is the one who has remained with his partner through emotional support, physical support, love and caring, actually can be banned from visiting his life long partner (can't get even IN to the hospital room) BY parents or relatives who haven't been in touch with the dying person since he came out of the closet! The survivng partner loses ALL money, rights to the house, rights to any children, and everything.........unless the papers have been firmly written down and signed correctly enough to satisfy a judge. A marriage between two people should be considered normal, if they truly intend to stay together. Think about it! How many married once couples do you know who are straight? Politicians figure out how many voters do not LIKE gay and lesbian people. The politician knows he may lose their vote if he comes right out and SAYS "That's your own business, now anyone else's!".............fear of losing votes keeps a lot of things in the dark ages, for far too long.

Answer 3

Legal marriages have been defined and redifined over the years to include legal ages for marriages.
I can probably find stipulations that define marriage as the union between men and women in the states. What the states have to do is agree to redefine the definition but that does not mean it will be recognized Federally such that their partners recieve the same benefits such as Social Security benefits. From what I understand part of the reason for such happening is these same gender marriage people desire such benefits along with being able to be placed on the insurance their partners have as a legally recognized couple. If it were only about love then this would not be such a big issue.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Marriage

In 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c104:H.R.3396:), which, for federal purposes, defined marraige as "only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife" (1 U.S.C. § 7). DOMA further provided that "No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship" (28 U.S.C. § 1738C). (See Conflict of laws, Constitutional law)



http://www.buddybuddy.com/mar-repo.html
Massachusetts became the first American state to offer legal marriage on May 17, 2004. While a fully legal marriage licenses, it remains to be seen if other states will honor it. The U.S. federal system, most definitely will not. Marriage here was the result of a suit — Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health
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Civil Solidarity Pact
While not the same as legal marriage, France offers “Civil solidarity pacts”. These provide far more than just symbolic significance, offering some of the tax, welfare, and inheritance rights that married couples enjoy. Registered couples are able to share such things as joint auto insurance, extend their social security coverage to each other, file joint tax returns, and leave each other property in their wills on favorable tax terms
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Common-Law Marriage
Common-law marriage is only available in certain states in the United States and has never applied to same-sex couples. It allows for some marriage law to apply to opposite-sex couples who have lived together a certain length of time. The exact laws that apply — and the time necessary to trigger common-law status — vary by state.
[Please see our article: Common-Law Marriage States]
Courts outside of the U.S. have periodically used their country’s common-law marriage status to allow certain domestic partner benefits apply to same-sex couples, most notably in Canada.
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Registrations
Many cities in France, Spain, The Netherlands and the U.S. offer registration for same-sex couples. In most cases, the registration carries little or no legal weight or benefits.
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There was still some state down south that allowed marriages as young as 13 for a female when I was 14 and a friend of mine got married by going to that state - her parents eventually annulled it. I believe part of the reason that marriages were define carefully as the union between a man and a woman is some people who may have been nuts or making a point or being funny did things like marry animals prior to the laws being clarified. For this reason marriage in most places is recognized as the legal union between a man and a woman of whatever age they declare is legal. I knew people locally who left the state to marry in another where it is allowed to get married younger than in Florida. But the parents can still pay to get the marriages annulled in Florida which has been done because they were not residents of the other states.

http://www.coolnurse.com/marriage_laws.htm

In the United States, all but two states require a couple be age 18 in order to marry without parental consent. Nebraska sets the age at 19 and Mississippi at 21 at the time of this writing (May 2003). A few states will waive this requirement if there is a pregnancy involved, but the couple may still have to have court approval.
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Georgia: If you are 16 or 17 years old, you may apply if accompanied by both parents who have given written consent. If the bride is pregnant, no parental consent is required if you submit a statement from a licensed physician certifying that the bride is pregnant.
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New Hampshire: A female between the age of 13 and 17 years and a male between the age of 14 and 17 years can be married only with the permission of their parent (guardian) and a waiver. A female below the age of 13 and a male below the age of 14 are not allowed to marry under any conditions. If both parties are nonresidents of NH and are below the age of 18 they cannot be married in NH under any conditions.
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Rhode Island: Under 18: A Minor's Permit to marry must be completed if a female applicant is 16 or 17 years of age. The permit must be signed and notarized in the presence of the City or Town Clerk or any clerk employed in that office. ²A female under age 16 and a male under age 18 cannot secure a marriage license in the State of Rhode Island without the approval of the Family Court.
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Other situations - Pregnant Teens: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland and Oklahoma allow pregnant teens or teens who have already had a child to get married without parental consent. In Florida, Kentucky, and Oklahoma, the young couple must have authorization from a court. Maryland requires that the minor be at least 16. Even with parental approval, many states will require court approval when a person is 16 years of age or less.