Gay Marriage State Laws on the Road to Change

State Laws are beginning to change in the state of Texas as legislators try to approve gay marriage state by state. With Texas being one of the states further right getting this to pass will not be an easy task.

The controversy of gay marriage has been going on for decades and has caused quite an uproar between the two political parties. The democrats are in favor of gay marriage while republicans have share the Christian values that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Gay marriage going against Christian values has been the leading factor to people being opposed to same sex marriage.

For the house and the senate to pass a law saying it is okay they would need more than two thirds of the vote being pro-same sex marriage. President Obama recently stated in his Inauguration speech: “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.” As The Daily Caller says, Obama is not the only politician in favor of gay marriage, many other highly ranked politicians have spoken out on the issue. People who spoke out against Obama stated that he was not doing enough for homosexuals and needs to become more involved in the process of getting gay marriage legal around the country.

Advocates have recently taken the streets in Texas trying to “repeal the ban” on gay marriage. Texas is mostly a republican state making gay marriage a huge issue here. Convincing Texans to be for gay marriage will not be a simple task. “Whether it takes the form of a domestic partnership registry or civil unions or something else, we are going to start working here in the Legislature to build capacity in this body so that we will have success, whether it’s this session or a future session,” said Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas (Dallas Morning News). Texas is so against gay marriage they do not want any legal status to be available to gay people and their relationships.

Legislators are now working in Texas to go against a part of the Texas Constitution that states that: “union of one man and one women” should be the only marriage status allowed. With all the controversy in Texas this process will not be an easy one. If two thirds support the constitutional amendment then it will be passed and same sex marriage will be allowed in the state of Texas.

When dealing with getting gay marriage approved all across the United States, legislators will have to take this problem state by state. One of the biggest issues with this is whether or not it can be categorized as constitutional or unconstitutional. Many Republicans will fight against the crowd and say it is no constitutional for the same sex to be married and that is violates many Christian values and beliefs. Democrats believe that this is constitutional and anyone that is in love should be able to get married and do as they wish.

Until these issues are solved and democrats and republicans can began working together, gay marriage will have to be taken state by state. Times are becoming more modern and people are becoming okay to the idea of same sex marriage. Younger people have recently shown that they are fine with same sex marriage, while older people tend to be against it. As we modernize and the generations change, so will some of the narrow-minded ideas obtained by many Americans.

They may love him, but will they vote for him?

President Obama is known for many things such as being the first black president, starting obama care, being president when Osama bin Laden was found and killed, and now for supporting gay marriage. The people of the United States have taken almost everything that president Obama has done and turned it into a controversy. Any president who makes big decisions usually causes controversy since the United States has many different opinionated groups. The most recent controversy that president Obama is facing is his support for gay marriage. The reason being is that americans feel as though he had came out by saying he supported gay marriage at the wrong time. They felt that he waited too long or some of the more conservative people think that he shouldn’t have said it at all. I personally think that it was a smart decision for him to come out and say that he supports gay marriage but I felt like he took more credit for himself than he should have because after all, Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan had come out before and endorsed and supported gay marriage. One of the reasons I feel like it is a good decision from president Obama is because polling showed that more than half of America supported gay marriage.

             Over the years, president Obama has been liked for many things but image was also a factor in him being liked so much. He has the image of being a strong black man with supportive wife and two children. Already from just that he gets the family vote. President is also liked for his many appearances on television shows such as the late night show with Jimmy Fallon and also the View. This gives him a wide range of people watching to see “who he really is”. President Obama also has a twitter who is run by the Obama campaign staff who right now has close to 16 million followers. All of these factors into him being such a liked president but I believe that it will not help him enough to where if you took solely the people who just “liked” him, it wouldn’t be enough. As much as people like him, he has made many decisions who could have changed their minds very easily in the past four years. President Obama still has a good chance in winning the presidential race but it will not be so much of whether people like him or not.

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/marriage-obama-brave-warrior-political-late-comer/story?id=16363665#.T7VVX-WJmkI

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/17/politics/obama-likeability/index.html

For the Right Reason?

Just Recently, President Obama stated that he supports same- sex marriage.  This statement has caused a huge debate and interest in the people of America, as well as students like us studying the elections.  Many questions have come up about this action that President Obama chose to make. Could this move be political move trying to gain more votes because he feels threatened by Mitt Romney?  Or could it be that he actually feels that same-sex marriage is ok?  I believe that President Obama should make this decision based off of his true belief, not because he is trying to gain support from more people.  Having said that, it is a very smart move if Obama did this to gain more support, even if he doesn’t truly stand by it.  However, we will never truly know the answers to these questions.

Same-sex marriage has always been a “state issue,” but as this issue became bigger and bigger it developed into a “national issue.”  It is playing a crucial role in the elections of officials in our government.  By choosing to support same-sex marriage, Obama is directly going against his republican contenders.  This is a very bold move that could either help him or hurt him.  There are currently thirty states that prohibit same-sex marriage.(1)  This statistic alone shows that Obama’s decision to support same-sex marriage was very risky.  Also recent polls show that “opposition to same-sex marriage rises to 51 percent, compared with 42 percent support.” However, when looking at this statistic one must keep in mind that the majority of people that are against same-sex marriage are republican and it is their belief that same-sex marriage is wrong.  Also, the majority of Republicans will not be voting for President Obama regardless because of the loyalty to their party.

This brings me to my main question that I have already mentioned and briefly talked about.  Did President Obama choose to support same-sex marriage to gain support?  In my opinion he did side with allowing same-sex marriage in order to gain more votes and the support of the homosexual people.  The timing of this decision was also very odd to me as well.  He chose to become public with this idea during the middle of the election process, and when it became clear whom he would be running against.  A poll that was conducted by the New York Times states, “they thought that Mr. Obama had made it “mostly for political reasons,” while 24 percent said it was “mostly because he thinks it is right.”” (2) This just proves that most of America believes that President Obama did this as an act to win the election.

When candidates run for election they use many different tactics and ways to gain support of voters.  Through our studies in government this year we have learned that candidates normally target a specific type of audience, such a young people or older people and many others.  When Obama admitted to supporting same-sex marriage he gained the support of the LGBT.  We will never know weather this action was due to gaining more votes or because he feels that same-sex is right, but we will soon find out if this move helped Obama win or lose the 2012 Presidential election.

(1)http://www.domesticpartnershipflorida.com/gay-marriage-facts-statistics/

(2)http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/us/politics/poll-sees-obama-gay-marriage-support-motivated-by-politics.html

Judicial Tyranny in the states?

Most Americans are under the impression that America is truly an ideal democratically just nation, in which the people have the power. Sadly people are ignorant and are unaware of how corrupt the United Sates truly is.  Back in February during a heated debate in government class (which I won of course) I was genuinely upset and disappointed with the Government.  I do not mean to come off as a staunch republican who does not see both sides, which many presume I am, because honestly, I always try to make an effort to see both sides of the argument as any experienced arguer would.  However, while debating the prop. 8 case that took place in California in 2010 my instinctual republican core flared through my chest as I pondered how so many Americans could be so complacent by allowing judges to overturn the will of the people.

Before I completely analyze the case and explain how tyrannical and absurd the conclusion was I would like to briefly summarize the events for those who are unaware.  In 2010 there was a trial concerning the legalization of same sex marriage in California, also known as the Prop. 8 case.  The citizens of California voted to decide whether or not gay marriage would become legalized. The people’s votes resulted with 52.2% against it and 47.8% for it.  Shockingly, the verdict of the case made gay marriage in California legal.  Now if you’re sitting at your screen shaking your head with your jaw dropped I assure you, you are not alone.  The Supreme Court judges of California who judged the case claimed “Proposition 8 served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California,” the court said. This enrages me greatly because I cannot fathom how any judge can justify overturning the will of the people without having legitimate constitutional grounds, which the judge clearly did not have. I might also add that U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker who turned down the ballot is openly gay and has been in a same sex relationship for over 10 years.  Hmm…..how ironic.

 

That is outright judicial tyranny!  The constitution, also known as the supreme law of the land clearly states under the 10^th amendment that powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states lye in the hands of the people. “The Tenth Amendment states the Constitution’s principle of federalism by providing that powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states by the Constitution are reserved to the States or the people.”

Now my understanding is that marriage is not a protected class under the constitution therefore giving the power to determine gay marriage to the people, not a gay judge

who wants to marry his boyfriend.  If this doesn’t make you feel cheated and skeptical of the free land in which you believe you live then America may not be the country for you.  The fact that a judge publically performed a tyrannical act that represents the very reasons why pilgrims left England to set up a free land astounds me.  Now you may be sitting there thinking I am writing this from a bias perspective, however, I can assure you I am not. I do not care about the legalization of gay marriage; it makes no difference to me. I care about living in a just democratic nation that honors the principles our fore fathers wrote into the constitution.  This case is a perfect example of complete corruption in our government; under no circumstances is it ever legitimate or democratic for a judge to overturn the will of the people with out constitutional grounds. 

This arises a question in which I will leave you with.  Are federal judges in America made corrupt by the amount of power they are given?  Now for those who may not know, Federal judges are appointed by the president to serve a life term.  This becomes very gray to me because I see both sides as legitimate arguments.  One side argues that Judges must serve a life term so they are able to make tough decisions and do what is right without worrying about popularity or being reelected. Others argue that judges need to be elected because they are given far too much power with a life term.  The solution is far out of my hands. I just want to make people aware of the corruption in America and encourage them to become more involved because it really does matter, if we let a judge overturn the vote of the people what will we let them do next if we aren’t careful?

Sorces:

1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

2)  http://articles.latimes.com/2012/feb/12/news/la-santorum-decries-judicial-tyranny-in-prop-8-case-20120212

3) http://www.rochesterconservative.com/blog/judicial-tyranny-in-california/

4) http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/gay-marriage-prop-8s-ban-ruled-unconstitutional.html

Gay Marriage, Gay Rights

This year in our government class we have connected current event stories back to what we learn in our everyday class; weather that be by topical debates or blogging about our personal thoughts on an issue. By talking about these issues it helps put more of an idea in my mind of what is going on in the world outside of Dallas. Stories that have caught my attention lately would be any stories having to do with gay rights. There are many discussions and life changing decisions being made lately on this topic.

To start off our Constitution never straight out says gay marriage is wrong but on the other hand it also never says gay marriage is right. Either side has a fair chance on sharing why they believe citizens should have the right to gay marriage or why citizens shouldn’t have the right. Depending on the people you grow up around have a big influence also how a person interprets exactly what the constitution says. The decision on gay marriage is handled by each state. Recently President Obama stated that he was for gay marriage saying “treat others the way you want to be treated”. Obama can only persuade other people to be for gay marriage he has no other legal power to make gay marriage legal. Another recent event concerning gay marriage would be North Carolinas stamp on banning gay marriage. Reports stated that many college students and young professionals came out to vote for gays having the same rights as marriages between one man and one woman. Those that opposed stated they aren’t anit-gay they are pro-marriage and that you just don’t rewrite the nature of God’s design for marriage based on the demands of a group of adults.

Some gay rights activists insist that homosexuality is a genetic medical condition that individuals have no control over. Gay marriage is only becoming more popular in today’s generation, I believe if a person is happy and wants the same rights as a marriage with a man and a woman, why shouldn’t they have the same rights? I really don’t see how it affects other people. Yes occasionally people might see them out or live near them and feel uncomfortable when they do see them but is that one minute of feeling uncomfortable worth taking away someone else’s happiness?

President Obama Supports Gay Marriage: Why He Did It and What It Means

Recently, it has made headline news that President Barack Obama has announced his support for the marriage of a LGBT couple. I know that a lot of my fellow classmates have already spoken about this but hopefully I will be able to keep this interesting and shed some light on the subject. In our government studies this year, several topics have caught my eye but one has been the use of campaign commercials and the relationship of the political parties. Hopefully I can examine the reasoning behind his decision to support gay marriage.

Vice President Joe Biden also came out and supported gay marriage three days earlier than . When I heard President Barack Obama’s comments, I had a few thoughts. I thought that maybe Barack Obama felt pressured into also supporting gay marriage just because his vice president supported as well. I also thought that maybe Vice President Biden stole President Obama’s thunder by supporting gay marriage just days before the President. It turns out that both the former and the latter might be true. According to The New York Times, Vice President apologized to President Obama for, “hastening him into an endorsement of same-sex marriage, several people briefed on the exchange said Thursday, even as the White House sought to capitalize in the campaign on Mr. Obama’s long-awaited expression of support” (1). The campaign of President Obama really wanted to be progressive and support gay marriage but Biden called a press conference first and his views were much different than Obama’s views. Even though President Obama’s support has been highly analyzed, Biden made the headlines first and some people have questions about President Obama’s motives. I don’t doubt that President Obama supports gay marriage, but I think he was forced into saying it by his fellow party members.

President Obama is now the first President of the United States to support gay marriage, but it does not necessary mean anything for the legalization in America of gay marriage. Sean Eldridge, senior adviser at Freedom to Marry, told Yahoo News, “Today is more about moral leadership and less about policy. I don’t think his statement will immediately translate into policy since marriage still is for the most part a state issue” (2). Eldridge brings up some good points. If marriage is mostly a state issue, it would take a while to make the 6 states that allow it to become 50. The President has shown support of LGBT in the past; this statement didn’t come out of nowhere. He ended the  ban of openly gay members to be in the military. He also, “supports the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and he ordered the Justice Department last year to abandon the law’s defense” (2). Now that President Obama supports gay marriage, he is the best hope for the LGBT community to earn the right to get married. Although it could be just a political ploy, it seems like President Obama is trying his best to allow gay marriage in America even though he may not be ready to cope with the thought of it yet.

Obama said that he recently changed his mind when he spoke with openly LGBT members of the military. He has a track record with being supportive of gay rights and equality for all, but it is still unclear whether this is a political ploy or a truthful acknowledgment. Well, it’s both. The timing is good for his campaign and Joe Biden also came out and supported it, both signs that it could be a political act. His track record, however, proves that he does in fact support gay rights. Honestly, it is up to the reader to decide what his ulterior motives are and what he truly believes.

1.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/11/us/politics/obama-campaign-tries-to-capitalize-on-marriage-issue.html?_r=1&smid=tw-share

2. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/obamas-gay-marriage-views-policyabout-moral-leadership-advocate/story?id=16314661#.T7JenZ9YthM

Same Sex Marriage

Recently there has been lots of talk about President Obama’s opinion on same sex marriage. The reason for that is because it is election year, and the candidates start to take sides on many important issues and voters are eager to choose their new President. Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have taken their sides on same sex marriage, while Obama recently says he is for same sex marriage, Mitt Romney says that, “Marriage is the relationship between one man and one woman.” Also with the decision in North Carolina with the vote of the people to ban same sex marriage in their state, this issue will be a popular one in the next few weeks.

With the elections coming up and with many citizens making decisions for the election, the candidates will do anything to get into the White House. This year in government we have learned about a few of the main aspects in becoming a president. We looked over the past campaign commercials that the other presidential candidates have used, their biographies, and their policies on the main issues of the country. We did a project where one of the group members runs as a President in 2016 and we made a commercial, biography, website, and we took our sides on the concerning issues. In our policies on social issues we discussed gay marriage, and we thought it should be allowed throughout the country. I have learned that candidates change their own view on issues to just get more votes to get the power of presidency. I am surprised that Obama is just now coming out with his opinion, I had thought that he already has taken a side because he had already run for election, and it is not as if gay marriage is a new topic. With the President taking a side on this issue so late, it gets me to think that he may have done this to get more votes. But in trying to do this Obama seems to get more negative responses. I also learned that candidates not only change their views they also try to attack the weakness of the other candidates to give them an edge on the other. After Obama gave his stand on this issue, Mitt Romney then told the graduating student of Liberty University in Virginia that he opposed same sex marriage. He also said that people who got married are less likely to be in poverty. With the popularity of this issue the Obama campaign has already released a commercial that attacks Mitt Romney views on same sex marriage, and they argue that he will be pushing America backwards.

I think that Gay Marriage should be legal, because people in America have “freedom” and “equality” according to the Constitution, so why could the government be allowed to stop someone from doing something that other people are allowed to do. If two people say they want to be with each other I don’t think the government should not allow the same rights as heterosexual couples.

Politicians Are Humans Too!

Mitt Romney senior year book picture

Throughout the many years which we attend school and listen to our parents we always hear the common sayings when it comes to how to treat your peers: “follow the golden rule”, and “treat others the way you want to be treated”.  Well sayings like these worked in kindergarten, but as we get older and develop new ideas and perceptions, especially during our teen years, it is inevitable that we are not going separate ourselves from those who do not think like us.  But sometimes this separation is not enough for people, and some feel the need to express their opinions to people who do not believe what they do.  Recently Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee running against Obama, had a scandal with a bullying incident which happened way back when he was in high school.

The cranbrook school

Mitt Romney went to a very prestigious prep school near Detroit called Cranbrook during his high school career.  Romney did very well in school but as most of do, no matter how wrong we all believe it is, teased a student about his hair and decided to pull a prank on him.  The student who accused Romney of this is John Lauber described the attack as if it were a scene pulled out of The Lord of Flies, when simply Romney cut a snippet of the boy’s hair which was hanging over his eyes.  Through the complex and twisted world of media, the idea was firstly twisted as if to say that because of this one act, the act of an 18 year old Mitt Romney, should convince us to vote otherwise in the upcoming election.  How can the action of  an eighteen year old high school student affect how we perceive the man which we see today?  Are we to believe that over all of the years that he has lived since then, he has not learned from his mistakes.  Are we to believe that politicians do not make mistakes; that politicians are supposed to live above the standards we uphold for ourselves?  It does not seem fair to me that because of this one incident which happened in the 1960’s, people can rapidly feel dis-heartened by what he/she did.  Everyone who has gone through high school, or life for that matter, are always making mistakes and learning from them and developing.  Mitt Romney states,” Back in high school, you know, I did some dumb things, and…I participated in a lot of high jinks and pranks during high school, and some might have gone too far, and for that I apologize.”  Mitt Romney is a person too even though he is a politician.  Like all of us he made mistakes in high school and has learned from them.

Obama declares opinion on gay mariage…. Romney has a gay haze scandal leaked? Coincidence?

Secondly around the time this news was released, Obama announced his support for Gay Marriage in America.  Allegedly, the student which Romney “bullied” was gay.  Romney in an interview claims that they did not talk about sexual orientation and that it was not a deliberate act against gay peoples.  Many believe that in light of Obamas new announcement, the story was brought out to bring hatred toward the Romney campaign.  Even though Romney has stated that he did not know nor even care for that matter the sexual interests of the individual, the story still brings fourth Romney into a negative light which is meant to show the exaggeration of his views.  I simply believe that the incident which happened nearly five decades ago, was a learning experience and should not reflect the  Romney of today.  If we have learned anything from our time in government, it is that the media and people manipulate stories to their advantage and personal gain, and we as learned men and women must decipher for ourselves what is false and what is fiction.  Truly an incident which happened fifty years ago, in high school, has no reflection on a man of today!  We all make mistakes, we are all human!; even politicians!

Same Sex Marriage Savvy? ;)

In Government class we have learned about different units of study such as Elections, Congress, the Presidency, and the Courts. In my reflection I’m going to tell you what I think about North Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage sparks cheers, jeers and how it connects to the congress. North Carolina voters want to change the state’s constitution, According to CNN North Carolina voted Tuesday to outlaw same-sex marriage, which was already prohibited in the state. Supporters pushed for the constitutional amendment, arguing that it is needed to ward off future legal challenges. Amendment one would make marriage between one man and one woman the only recognized legal union in the state, as well as it should be. From my experiences working with the constitution I’ve come to realize that us, as a nation should use it as a foundation to run our nation. The controversy going on in North Carolina could have been avoided if the people of NC would just abide by the constitutional rights. Is even stated in the bible that only man and women shall be together.

Yet one can argue that North Carolina banning same sex marriage is going against the 14^th Amendment which says “ No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United Sates; nor shall any Sate deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. Me personally? I really don’t know what I think about this certain situation regarding same sex marriage. If one is happy with the same sex why deny that happiness from them? But at the same time it goes against the constitution. Therefore, you can argue both sides in this scenario.

To conclude, I feel that if someone were to get married to one of the same sex that could be okay as long theyre happy. I don’t think anyone should be discriminated against, just because who theyre happy with, essentially we all want to be happy with the significant other. 😉

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2012/05/09/exp-early-martin-obama-same-sex-marriage.cnn

The first president to back gay-marriage; shaping our future

Throughout government class this year, we have devoted much of our time to discussing current events occurring everyday in our society.  We have talked about the topics of drug legalization, abortion rights, global warming, and same-sex marriage, to name a few.  The thorough discussions of these topics helped to open our minds to events happening daily all around us.  It is important to stay in the know about topics like these, as these events are shaping the world we live in and leave a footprint for the future we are rapidly developing into.  The decisions about these topics are important and as a young generation, we play a larger role than one would think in the entire process.  Through debating these topics, engaging in class seminars and discussions, and writing about these topics, government class has really opened my eyes to the more political standpoint of current affairs and events that shape our world.

Before government class this year, I had no idea how big of an impact we could make.  When we look back at the 2008 election of the first African-American president, we look at the young generation as playing a huge role in Obama’s win.  According to an article posted by Pew Research Center, “66% of those under age 30 voted for Barack Obama making the disparity between young voters and other age groups larger than in any presidential election since exit polling began in 1972.” This statistic alone shows the large impact that the younger generation can make.  Large decisions like these change our future and we should pay attention to them.

“President Barack Obama on Wednesday became the first U.S. president to declare support for same-sex marriage.” This topic has been scattered all over the news and media recently since May 9th.  This statement was the day after North Carolina passed Amendment One that banned gay-marriage in the state, on May 8th.  Backing gay marriage certainly was not an easy decision for the president to share this opinion and required a lot of thought before publicly announcing this.  I never realized how much of an impact statements like these could make.  This could turn voters towards Obama, or make others steer far away from him.

Over class periods of discussing this topic, I began to form more of my own opinion.  Listening to my classmates debate about the issues and history pertaining to this topic helped me to gather my own thoughts and consider both sides to the issue equally.  Before government class, I had never thought about the matter of gay-marriage.  I didn’t have an opinion either way and never gave it a second thought when I would hear information regarding it on the news or online.  After debating about this topic, my opinion about gay-marriage developed into seeing no harm in it.  Everyone is equal, and all men and women have a freedom of choice.  I don’t believe it is right to take away this freedom, and people should marry who they want, no matter if it’s man and woman, woman and woman, or man and man.  Same sex marriage and opposite sex marriage should be viewed the exact same in my opinion.

It will be interesting to follow this topic to see how this impacts Obama’s campaign.  Will this hurt or help his re-election?  His popularity could be increased or damaged based on this one opinion that he shared.  Before this class, events  like these never caught my eye or made me want to research about them.  But these are the events that are shaping our future and should be focused on because we are the future, and decisions and events today will impact it.  The young generation should continue to remain a vital part of government and the election process, as we can make a difference and our say means more than you would originally think.

[image from Mark Wilson at CNN.com]