The possible legalization of same-sex marriage has been a hot topic in the past two years, creating a divide among those who want same-sex couples to have the same rights as heterosexual couples and those who wish to keep marriage only between a man and a woman.
The traditional definition of marriage places it only between a man and a woman and Christian tradition supports this definition.
However, gay and lesbian Americans feel they should have the right to make a legal, lifetime commitment to their partners if they so choose.
In 1999, the state of Vermont became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex unions, but it did not call them marriages. Instead, Vermont adopted a “separate but equal” policy in creating its structure of same-sex civil unions, which provides benefits for same-sex partnerships without technically calling them marriages.
In November 2003, Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriages, using the word marriage to define homosexual unions as well as heterosexual ones.
The mayor of San Francisco, Calif., began issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples in September 2003, but those marriages were declared null and void by the California Supreme Court in August 2004.
Worldwide, same-sex marriages or fully equal civil unions are legal in Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal.
The United Kingdom is currently considering a similar proposal. Many other countries, including Iceland, France, Argentina, Finland, Greenland, Hungary, South Africa and Sweden offer legalized same-sex unions with some but not all of the rights afforded to heterosexual marriages.
Young Americans’ attitudes toward gay marriage are positive and growing more favorable, according to survey statistics. A 2001 survey published in The Atlantic Monthly found 58 percent of college freshmen think same-sex couples should be able to marry. In 1997, that number was only 51 percent.
However, the figure among the nation as a whole is considerably different, with a 2003 CBS News/ The New York Times poll finding only 34 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage.
A slightly higher proportion, 39 percent, would support same-sex civil unions, without the designation of “marriage.”
According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, white, higher-educated, more affluent Americans are more likely to approve of gay marriage.
A CBS News poll conducted in February 2004 found Republicans, conservatives and voters over the age of 65 were the most strongly opposed to gay marriage. Middle-aged voters were mostly opposed to gay marriage but less solid in that belief.
An article published in the Nov. 23, 2003, issue of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution predicts that public opinion concerning gay marriage will continue to grow more favorable in the coming decades as younger Americans with more progressive views develop more political power.
In February, President Bush endorsed a constitutional amendment that would restrict marriage to only a man and a woman. However, the amendment was not approved by the U.S. Senate.
Bush is expected to pursue such an amendment again during his second term, but White House advisers doubt it would receive the number of congressional votes necessary to pass.
Currently, decisions on the definition of marriage and whether or not to offer civil unions or domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples have been left to the states.
On Nov. 2, 2004, voters in 11 states approved state constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriages. Several of those amendments, including the ones approved in Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan also place bans on civil unions and domestic partnership benefits.
In Tennessee, the state Senate and House of Representatives passed a “definition of marriage” amendment during the 2004 legislative session restricting marriage to one man and one woman, but a similar amendment that would ban civil unions and domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples failed.
Voters in Tennessee will likely see the “definition of marriage” amendment on ballots in November 2006.
As more and more states approve constitutional bans on gay marriage, many gay and lesbian Americans feel they are being unfairly denied their right to share in one of the United States’ most precious institutions.
Lambda Legal, an organization devoted to helping gay and lesbian Americans achieve full civil rights, stresses the other rights gay and lesbian Americans are missing out on because they cannot marry, including hospital visitation, the ability to make health care decisions for their partners, inheritance rights, Social Security death benefits and joint-child adoptions.
However, moral traditionalists and religious conservatives say legalizing same-sex marriage would damage the institution of marriage by taking it away from the “one man, one woman” custom.
Many Americans are uncomfortable with the idea of homosexuality because they feel their religion says it’s wrong.
Religious conservative organization Focus on the Family supports denying gay and lesbian Americans the right to marry because it says homosexuality is immoral and legalizing same-sex marriages would desecrate the traditional institution of marriage.
What are your views on same-sex marriage, civil unions and domestic partnership benefits? What values support your beliefs?
The East Tennessean invites readers to share their views on same-sex marriage through letters to the editor.

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