Gays :: essays research papers

The Right to Unite Sam* and Alex* have been together for two years. Recently, they decided that they would like to buy a house together. This has not been an easy task as their lifestyle choice has caused them complications attaining a loan. Sam and Alex are of the same sex. If they were married, as they one day hope to be, getting a home loan would not be an issue. However, because they are gay, they are unable to legalize their relationship in 48 of the 50 states. The issue of gay marriage has been a very controversial subject since the late 1970’s. As of 2004, same-sex marriage is still not legally recognized in any U.S. state. Recently the development of same sex civil unions includes the state of Vermont, which is designed to be similar to marriage. On May 16th, 2004, whoops and cheers and a party spilled onto the streets, gay and lesbian couples here began filling out applications for marriage licenses at 12:01 a.m., when Massachusetts became the first state in the country to allow them to marry (Belluck). In 2004 a few local government officials, most notably the city officials of San Francisco, started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite being in conflict with state laws. In 1993, Hawaii and California legalized the marriage of gay individuals, with Vermont not far behind. Proponents of this measure feel that this current movement toward recognition of same sex relationships has been a long time coming. Those who are against gay marriages feel that by allowing gay individuals to marry, the whole concept of marriage would be destroyed. Since 1989, same sex marriages have been legal in Denmark. Researchers have found that "the divorce rate among Danish homosexuals is only seventeen percent compared to forty-six percent for heterosexuals"(Jones, 22). Psychologists believe that there are several reasons for this. Most homosexuals who are married have been together for several years before the wedding. Unlike heterosexuals, who often are wed months after the relationship begins. Finally, "Danish gays and lesbians rarely divorce... (because)...only those who are strongly motivated to marry do so, given society's disapproval of overt homosexuality"(Jones, 22). Since the legalization of gay marriages in Hawaii and California are so recent, there are no current studies on the divorce rates among homosexuals in the United States. However, one would believe that Danish statistics in this area would be comparable.