Same Sex Marriages

16 Pages 3999 Words

Should Homosexual couples be given the same marriage rights as Heterosexual couples ?

Tami Frost

Kaplan College
The institution of marriage has had an elongated and blemished past. Not always called
marriage this sacred state had slipped through history under many impersonations and
categories.
• Monogamy - summarizes an union of male and female or todays same sex couples, so long as the partners are only sleeping with one another.
• Polygamy - is the practice of one man or woman with numerous spouses of the opposite sex. Often, the need for this type of arrangement came from times of war, affliction or other disaster.
• Polyamory - is a multiple-partnered marriage whereby the partners get together out of love.
• Common-Law - is the relationship of a couple without legal ceremony or license.
The Puritans moved marriage to a point where love counted and delighting in the state
of marriage became commonplace, yet extremely committed. The Victorian period dragged
marriage into the closet. Sex was something embarrassing and improper with a quiet
understanding that married couples engaged in marital relations, without pleasure and as duty
and God dictated for the purpose of procreation.
Until as recently as 20 years ago, in some areas of North America women still needed a
husband’s signature to obtain a credit card or mortgage. Things have certainly changed.Virtually
all scholars agree that we have witnessed a major transition in the meaning of marriage in the
years from 1600 to 1995. In 1600, marriage for almost all Europeans and Europeans in
America was primarily an economic arrangement negotiated among families in which family
considerations of status, future economic stability, and prosperity were the most important
considerations in selecting a potential spouse. By 1995, most Americans consider the primary
purpose of marriage to be a commitment to emotional and psychological suppor...