Lauren Adams Melissa Helton English 102 2 February 2012 Summary of A. Sullivan’s “For Gay Marriage” & W. Bennett’s “Against Gay Marriage”. Andrew Sullivan and William J. Bennett have very different opinions about legalizing gay marriage. Sullivan suggests it should be legal, but Bennett argues that it would ruin everything marriage stands for in America. In his book Virtually Normal: An Argument about Homosexuality (1995), former New Republic editor Andrew Sullivan argues that not having gay marriage is a violation of equality. He points out that he is not referring to religious traditions but suggests, in a public institution, marriage should be available to any two citizens.
Gay marriage is protected by the Constitution’s commitments to liberty and equality. Does banning this rite follow suit with the Constitution’s commitment? It is also protected by the Due Process Clause. It makes one consider how Proposition 8 was approved. Gays are a minority group just as African-American’s and other various religious and ethnic groups; the others are allowed to marry, even interracially or with different religious preferences.
Social policies that can be linked to this type of family diversity are laws to do with homosexuality in the UK. For example, in 1967 male homosexuality was legalised in the UK this has made homosexuality more socially accepted; this would allow gay couples to start a recognised family. However, other social policies have made same sex families even more accepted. For example, in 2002 the UK adoption laws were changed to allow gay couples to adopt children and create a family unit. Furthermore, in 2004 the Civil Partnership Act meant that gay individuals could now enter into a civil partnership; resulting in the stability and long term commitment of a family.
Therefore there is not justifiable reason to extend that right to gay couples and in so doing change the very definition of marriage. On the other hand, more liberal citizens, backed by the President as well as many democrats, believe that marriage is right that should be extended to all, no matter of their sexual orientation, and that procreation is not the only reason for marriage, but instead it is the joining of two people that love each other. This controversial issue is being fought in numerous states; however California is undoubtedly the epicentre. Proposition 8 was a referendum passed by the people that banned same-sex marriage. As soon as it was passed into law a multitude of appeals were lodged against it claiming it was unconstitutional, although to begin with proposition 8 was upheld by the courts as constitutional, for example Strauss v. Horton, eventually the Californian 9th circuit Court of appeals ruled it unconstitutional.
American History II/HIS 132N Instructor: Rex Etheridge April 4, 2012 The Civil Right Movement The laws passed to protect the people of the United States after the events of World War I, such as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, brought African Americans and other minorities a sense of belonging. Given the opportunity to proudly serve and fight for their country. However a stream of racial discrimination by white solidarity, took place right after these Amendments were passed and the Jim Crows laws violated these laws. Yet it wasn’t until the case of Brown v. Board of Education that speeded the process towards a Civil Right Movement. The Civil Right Acts of 1964 and the Voting Right Acts are but two pieces of legislation which made sure that these Amendments were not being violated.
Each group of reformers challenged the words of our founding fathers as stated in the Constitution, “…in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity,…promote the general welfare…to ourselves and our posterity…,” progressives were searching for a perfect union for every individual to be satisfied with. Many black American activists became increasingly popular during this time period, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B DuBois were the most prominent. Both varied greatly in terms of ways to gain and retain rights as American citizens. Booker T. Washington, an ex-slave himself, believed black
I think it also is a huge reason why people join political and social movements in the first place. People must take action for something in order to obtain it. In order to acquire gay marriage, people join the LGBT protests. The Civil Rights movement helped lessen the amount of RD African Americans were experiencing in the U.S. Sit-ins
The Radical Republicans supported Civil and voting rights, as well as Social Welfare Programs. Reconstruction not only brought about change but also a political discourse amongst African Americans. Issues of social control and paternalism arose between black communities and the Northern whites of Freedman’s Bureau. Black suffrage was an issue during the Reconstruction era. With Reconstruction, blacks were able to become freed blacks within the South through the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendment.
It is important that we know it is okay to show publicly who we are and what we stand for. Topic Sentence 3: Men and women involved in homosexual activities lead to criminal charges and imprisonment but today, gay and lesbian communities possesses legal benefits and protections. Evidence: 1. In 1999, The supreme court of Canada ruled that same sex couples would have the same benefits and legal finances associated with heterosexual marriage (Phelam 24) 2. Gay Pride Parade/ LGBT (windsorpride.com) 3.
Rodriquez states that in most of the 20th century, the idea of racial purity was part of the legal system in order to maintain pure white supremacy. He recalls that if a person was even 1% African American, he or she was considered black. But in the last few decades, the acceptance of multiracialism has increased because of civil right movements, laws eliminating racial segregation, racial mixing due to increase of Mexican-origin population, and the addition of “check-all-races-that-apply” on the Census Bureau. Rodriguez claims that some black civil rights activists accept President Obama’s decision because they believe it has helped strengthen the identity of the black community. However, other analysts say that identifying oneself with multiple races would make it harder for obtaining race data to determine the widespread of racism.