Recognizing Same-Sex Marriage
Same-sex marriage is a huge controversy between Americans across the Country. In thirty-three states marriage is defined as a “union between a man and a woman”. For seventeen states in the U.S. this definition has been changed because every citizen should be treated equally according to the constitution and this also violates the Equal Protection Clause. It became possible for people of the same-sex to marry when it was stated to be unconstitutional. Denying marriage is denying a citizen their civil rights. People of the same-sex are not receiving the same benefits as a person who has married someone of the opposite sex will receive. It is also an issue between different states. The state law and the federal …show more content…

If they live in California they will receive the same benefits because it is now legal to marry. DOMA was passed in 1966 but DOMA is unconstitutional under Article four, Clause one which states that citizens of a state are entitled to all privileges and immunities of another state. So if a couple gets married in California, all other states must recognize that marriage because it is a civil matter. This is illegal to do under the constitution. The states that allow gay marriage are: Court Orders; Massachusetts(1st/2003), Connecticut, Iowa, California, New Jersey. Legislative Action; Vermont(1st/2009), New Hampshire, Washington D.C, New York, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota, Hawaii, Illinois. Referendums; Maine, Maryland/Washington State. There are a total of 17 states that have been approved for legal same-sex marriage.
In summary we have seen that the federal government should be the ones making the decisions of the issue regarding same-sex marriage since DOMA is violating the Equal Protection Clause. It remains a controversy that people engaging in same-sex marriage are not receiving their federal benefits, are not being treated equally by the government, and homosexuals marriages are being separated in different states by different laws. They are not given federal benefits by losing protection over their spouse, they are being treated