I Now Pronounce You Woman and Wife

One of the biggest controversies facing this country today is that which surrounds same-sex marriage. Although there are many arguments for and against this issue, the foundation of our government revolves around certain beliefs, which establish the method of lawmaking in the United States, but also protect the rights of its people. These rights were set forth in the Bill of Rights portion of the United States Constitution in 1789 and ratified in 1791. Despite further additions to the bill of rights overtime. Never has there been an amendment added that would restrict the rights of the people as this issue is proposing. This would alter the core foundations of our country and therefore affect every individual. Based on the rights granted to the people as a whole by the founding fathers and set forth in the Bill of Rights, it is unconstitutional, discriminatory and unreasonable to prohibit same-sex marriage. The First Amendment states “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This means that church and state are separate when it comes to law making. Creating laws based on religion is in clear violation of this amendment, yet religious intonations saturate this issue. For this reason, it is imperative that individuals must address and separate these religious aspects from the situation in order to provide an impartial and thorough view of the issue. One key point that many people often overlook is that marriage is not strictly a religious sacrament; it is also a civil institution, which evolves over time. “Marriage today remains a civil institution as well as a religious one”. (Schlesinger, 2012) Initially men from hostile tribes would simply abduct women from other tribes with the assistance of the best man; a name referring to the best warrior a groom could find. The groom would then hide her away while her tribe searched for her during the period of time we now refer to as the honeymoon.

References: 11 Facts About Gay Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2012, from dosomething.org: http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-gay-rights A COMPILATION OF CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS REGARDING MARRIAGE Census Bureau Releases Estimates of Same-Sex Married Couples. (2011, September 27). Retrieved October 4, 2012, from Census.gov: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb11-cn181.html Edmonds, M Gay Marriage. (2012, September Gay Marriage 12 ). Retrieved 10 1, 2012, from ProCon.org: http://gaymarriage.procon.org Jackson v Klein, K. (2012, October 4). latimes.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012, from Proposition 8: What to hope for from the Supreme Court: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-proposition8-scotus-marriage-20121004,0,804662.story Legislatures, N Mcclain, G. (2012, November 10). Supreme Court to consider gay marriage. Retrieved from Digital Journal: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/336596 Messerli, J Pedersen v. Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representative , Civil Action No. 3:10-cv-1750 (VLB). (United States District Court, D. Connecticut July 31, 2012). Pickett, B Supreme Court Showdown Glad v. Doma. (2012). Retrieved October 4, 2012, from Glad.org: http://www.glad.org/doma Understanding And Presenting The Case Wills, G. (2012, May 9). The Myth About Marriage. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from The New York Review of Books: http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/may/09/marriage-myth/ Windsor v