Albeit voted as one of the most gay-friendly country, Australia still bans same-sex marriage, after the passing of the Marriage Amendment Act in 2004, in which the government chose to update and amend the Marriage Act 1961 and insert the words "marriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life." The ban serves only to hurt, to discriminate and to deprive more than 33,700 same-sex couples and their families of equal dignity, rights and protection by the law. ... In federal law alone, it is assessed that there are more than 1,100 lega...

• Word Count: 954
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The courts said that part of the due process of the 14th amendment stated protection of the legal rights of a person. ... The defense of marriage act (DOMA) states that states did not have to recognize same-sex marriage, thus didn't have to be legal. ... It prevented same-sex couples to obtain government health care benefits and other special protections. ... Also the act violated the equal protection clause of the 14 the amendment. ...

• Word Count: 1024
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

A number of these changes have been in the areas of: Property, Medical Rights, Superannuation Rights and Taxation legislation, there was also attempt of Gay Marriage in ACT. ... The De-Facto Relationships Act 1984 (NSW) was amended and renamed The Property (Relationships) Act 1984 (NSW). The newly amended act dud recognise same sex relations as de-facto relationships through the amendment in Section 4. ... " This now more open piece of legislation provided a range of new protections for same sec couples in Property Divisions, Inheritance, Decision making powers in terminal illness and ar...

• Word Count: 1344
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Vermont Supreme Court attempted to answer this question response written by Jeffrey Amestoy stated the issue of same sex civil unions as "May the State of Vermont exclude same sex couples from the benefits and protections that its laws provide to opposite sex married couples? ... Section seven stated "The state has a strong interest in promoting stable and lasting families, including families based upon same sex couples. " In the following section the legislators said, "without the legal protections, benefits and responsibilities associated with civil marriage, same sex couples suffer nume...

• Word Count: 2060
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In their Constitution, Article I, Section 5, reads: "No persons shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, not be denied the enjoyment of the person's civil rights or be discriminated against in the exercise thereof because of race, religion, sex or ancestry." ... Gay men and women are citizens, entitled, like everyone else, to equal protection. ... There is no logical reason that society should reject the act of same-sex marriages because it is the right of gay and lesbian couples legally, socially, and econ...

• Word Count: 1321
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered the Alberta government to grant homosexuals special protection under the province's human rights law (Smith, Max, B.C. ... In March of 1999 the right to private adoption of same-sex partners was extended and in the same year the Supreme Court dismissed the heterosexual definition of spouse under Ontario's Family Law Act (Smith, Max, B.C. ...

• Word Count: 833
• Approx Pages: 3

As a result of this, the Republican Congress drafted into its "Contract with America- a small but noteworthy provision entitled "The Defense of Marriage Act-. ... The Defense of Marriage Act is just a scapegoat for rightwing conservatives to justify their religious and moral beliefs, and to try and inflict their ideals upon Americans. ... First of all, this unconstitutional bill is referred to as, "The Defense of Marriage Act."" ... This Act is a thoughtless solution to solve a non-existing problem. ... Identifying this Act as a "Defense of Marriage- is saying that homosexuals are attacking he...

• Word Count: 2230
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

United states, the 3rd section of the DOMA (defense of marriage act) was unjustly removed, depriving the real meaning of marriage away from people. Many claimed the DOMA was meant to exploit and shame the views of homosexuals, however it was meant to defend the traditional meaning of marriage, thus the name of the act. ... The 14th amendment says: No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person with...

• Word Count: 1757
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

SAME SEX MARRIAGES For many years a battle has been undergoing over whether equal rights and protection against discrimination should be extended to homosexuals which was recently expanded into the area of marriage. ... There is no need to explain why such an act should not be allowed under the Constitution of the United States. ...

• Word Count: 980
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Some people think if gay marriages are legalized, then this act of "immoral" behavior will start a chain reaction that will eventually destroy the idea of a sacred marriage. ... Also, the Constitution states that the government may not "deny any person the equal protection of the laws" ("Independent Gay Forum," 2004). ...

• Word Count: 1192
• Approx Pages: 5

This millennial generation has many different values and opinions than previous generations, including that on same-sex marriage. The right for marriage equality is a fight that has been brought to the public because of this generation's growing voice. They stand together to be heard; same-sex marri...

• Word Count: 1245
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

It violated the Hawaiian Constitution's equal protection guarantees (Article I, Section 5) against gender discrimination. ... In the "constitutional sense, 'civil rights' encompass only those rights designated for special protection by the clear terms of the Constitution" (Lee). ...

• Word Count: 2159
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Same-sex marriage became a reality in the United States in 2004 in the wake of a ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court that it was required under the equal protection clause of the state's Constitution (Dematteis/Reuters, 2012). ... It is the indication by how they spoke to one another and acted towards one another, however that thought was disrupted by the reality that everyone in town saw Idgie as a man. ...

• Word Count: 1404
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Whatever rights someone may enjoy on account of other identities, attributes, accomplishments, and positions cannot ensure either the free exercise of individual liberty or equal protection of the laws that a person is known to be lesbian or gay. ... Windsor, the Supreme Court declared the Section Three of "The Defense of Marriage Act," which states that "the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife,''[14]...

• Word Count: 1702
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate