By snoadmin
For the most part, marriage, or the like, is viewed as a worldwide custom. Marriage, however, is most commonly interpreted as being between one man and one woman, but times are a-changin’.
Attorney Gen. Eric Holders announced last Wednesday that the Obama administration has decided to no longer defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which establishes that only heterosexual marriages will be recognized in the eyes of the federal government, and that states may decide on their own whether to treat gay marriages as straight ones. As you can probably guess, the opinions of both supporters and opponents have been emerging.
Liberals have been urging Congress to repeal the law. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is already proposing legislation. The House of Representatives, however, has decided to defend DOMA in any ongoing court cases, along with any outside group that successfully petitions to argue in favor of DOMA. What we would like to hear, though, is who exactly decided that marriage was to be strictly between a man and a woman? And, what is a compelling and rational reason as to why same-sex marriages have been so diligently discriminated against?
Centuries ago, our federal government provided us with a list of what we can consider “rules” to abide by, along with a list of our rights as citizens of the U.S. But, in a country where people are becoming increasingly aware of the LGBT — lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender —population, what gives our federal government the right to limit the term “marriage” to being only between a woman and a man?
The reason most often heard in response to this question is that of, “That’s what it says in the Bible.” Those that understand the popular religious belief that only a straight couple can marry are usually the individuals who respect the ideals of religion. We undoubtedly respect religion, but what happened to the separation of church and state? Sure, the U.S. was formed by a rather religious group of people, but we have transformed into a melting pot of cultures and religions, which justifies the logical decision to refrain from urging religious beliefs onto others. Thus, since basing Section 3 of DOMA off of a religious belief would go against our nation’s moral compass, then what is the real reason for the rule?
This is where the second question comes in. Religion supposedly has nothing to do with same-sex marriages not being recognized by the federal government. So, why is there so much discrimination?
When a man and a woman get married, they enjoy the possibility of lower taxes, Social Security benefits and health insurance benefits, and these are only a few of the advantages of having a spouse. Because of DOMA’s Section 3, same-sex marriages are not “recognized” by the federal government, therefore the IRS and Social Security are to treat the couple as if they were two single individuals. Could this possibly be why some people are so persistent in protecting DOMA?
Same-sex marriages should stop being dealt with in a political manner. Instead, why we continue to limit and discriminate against same-sex marriage should be a question of human rights. There has been no rational explanation as to why LGBT people need to face so much obstruction when it comes to marriage, and until one is heard, there should be no reason to oppose Obama’s decision. And to those of you who argue Obama is not doing his duty as president to further enforce DOMA, let’s make something clear: Obama is not saying is going to stop “enforcing” the act, he is saying he will no longer “defend” the act. The act is still enforced; however, Obama will not be defending it in any future court cases. Until Congress or a higher federal court decides it is unconstitutional, DOMA is — unfortunately — a law.
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