Marriage and Same-Sex Unions Essay

Marriage and Same-Sex Unions Same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, and civil unions are terms that have been used to label the civil union of adults of the same sex. Same-sex marriage and civil unions have been debated amongst people for many years. Many argue that the right to marry the same-sex is both morally and ethically wrong; however, in our society today the prevalence of same-sex relationships has increased dramatically. In the last decade, the civil union debate has developed into a legal issue that involves the approval of the courts before a law is enacted or legislated. Since the beginning of history, marriage has been one of the most important organizing principles of human society, because it is the instrument through which the first cell of the society, the family, is founded. The nature of marriage has changed over time, with people marrying for love and companionship rather than mere social need for reproduction. Many people who are against gay marriage argue the fact that marriage by law has always and is only supposed to be between a man and a woman. This, however, has not always been the case. In the beginning, marriage was only between the same religion, race and social class. Then it became acceptable for different religions and social classes to marry in the late 18th century. Later it progressed to accept different race marriages from the 19th to the 20th century. And now a new change for same sex marriages to become legal is under way. This natural progression is something that all facets of society have fought against at some time or another. A debate is raging in America about who people have a right to marry. In response to homosexuals asking for the right to marry, many legislators are writing laws to ban same-sex marriage in their respective states. A civil union is a legally recognized union similar to marriage, proposed