Same Sex Marriage “All men are created equal” we pride ourselves on being a society that promotes equality and equal opportunity to all. Granting to all Americans unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Did that pursuit to happiness include the right to get married? Marriage which is defined as a union between one man and one women according to the Defense of Marriage Act prevents the federal government from recognizing same sex marriage. Same sex marriage is a civil rights, political, social, moral, and religious issue that has be highly debated within the United States. The debate on same sex marriage has become a more talked about topic on whether it is a constitutional right. The due process and equal protection clause within the 14th amendment states” nor shall any state deprive any person of life liberty or property without due process of the law; nor deny to any person within it jurisdiction the equal protection of the law. Marriage being regulated by each separate state allows for unequal treatment of same sex couples that reside in those states. In some states, same sex marriage is legally recognized which gives them the same rights and benefits that a heterosexual marriage would have but only at the state level, this does not include any federal benefits or protection of spouse. In other states civil union are used where same sex marriage is not recognized. This a union that provides a homosexual couple the same state benefits, civil rights and protections of the law that it provides to married couples. Civil union benefits may vary depending on what state you are in. In Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the Supreme Court decided that the segregation of schools (separate but equal) was unconstitutional. Same sex marriage and civil unions are second best and unequal to marriage thus making the separation unconstitutional. The issue of marriage and who this union is appropriate between has been debated before, before same sex marriage it was interracial marriage. In 1958 Mildred Jeter a black woman and Richard Loving a white man two residents of Virginia got married. At that time interracial marriage was illegal in the state of Virginia. In the decision known as Loving v. Virginia. The Lovings filed a motion to get their sentence dropped on the ground that the statutes which they had violated were repugnant to the Fourteenth Amendment. Chief Justice Earl Warren stated “Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man," fundamental to our very existence and survival. To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law.” If racial discrimination is unconstitutional when dealing with marriage. Sexual orientation should also be seen as being unconstitutional and a violation of equality. One of the reasons same sex marriage is such a controversial topic is because many people feel that marriage are vows taking before God so homosexuality goes against their religious beliefs. People that believe it goes against their religion like to site passages from the bible to support why they feel that homosexuality and same sex marriage is wrong, for example LEVITICUS 18:22 “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Many religious groups feel that by extending marriage to homosexuals would ruin the conventional meaning of marriage. Supporters of same sex marriage feel that there should be a separation between church and state. These supporters feel that religion has nothing to do with marriage and that marriage is two people who love each other and make a commitment to be together. Having strong religious beliefs that go against homosexuality is not a problem you are entitled to those views. It only becomes an issue if we allow those views to be the reason we violate the constitutional rights of others. Marriage is a right that homosexuals should be granted without stipulations. There should not be separate set of benefits that is allowed to one group of people opposed to another because they are slightly different. In doing so we send a message to our nation that equality no longer matters. Ones religion should not have a place within the states or federal governments decisions when it comes to same sex marriage because everyone’s religious beliefs are not the same. Marriage is when two people who love each other come together and decide to make a commitment to one another and to love and cherish that commitment. You can not dictate who and who is incapable of having those feelings and making that commitment. It is not only unjust it is sad that you would deny someone that joy of having that commitment. President Obama has said “What we've said is that same-sex couples are a group, a class that deserves heightened scrutiny. The Supreme Court needs to ask the state why it's doing it, and if the state doesn't have a good reason, it should be struck down." He has also said “ Lets treat everybody fairly lets treat everyone equally.” Equality at the end of the day is the goal, equality for all regardless to sexual orientation.

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