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Same-Sex Marriage Essay You Yu Yeh4-16-99English 1BProfessor RunyanEssay#2Marriage is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to the degree of being sacred. It is an association that promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects, from U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Douglas 1965. Should the definition of family include gay and lesbian partnerships? A surprising decision of approving the homosexuals marriage by the Hawaii Supreme Court has awakens the issue of same-sex marriage. Two-thirds of all Americans are reportedly opposed to the idea, but the discussion has just begun. I will present same-sex marriages the historical evidence, its discrimination, and the advantage for gay and lesbian. In many cultures and in many eras, the issue of same-sex marriage has emerged. The early Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies that are considered important antecedents for Western culture apparently tole rated same-sex relationships in their culture, literature, and mythology. Evidence shows that these societies recognized same-sex marriage is speculative. Later, however, one finds more tangible evidence of same-sex marriage in classical Greece, imperial Rome, and medieval Europe. According to The Case for Same-Sex Marriage (1996), about Egyptian, some artifacts have same-sex couples in intimate poses, suggesting that Egyptian society at some points in its history was accepting of same-sex relationships, and the best documented are the same-sex marriages of Romes emperors. There is also strong evidence demonstrating the existence of same-sex unions, including legally recognized marriages, in Native American, African, and Asian cultures. The unions serve important functions for the partners: economic, professional, or social in nature. Throughout human history people have entered into same-sex unions because they loved one another and desired the intimacy that close companionship off ers. These are neither unprecedented nor unnatural. Sullivan believes that marriage is a process in which a person wants to commit to another person in front of their family and country for the rest of their lives. It is also the most simple, the most natural and the most human instinct in the world. Sullivan uses pathos more than logos and ethos, which is in contrast of Bennett. He talks about gays and lesbians being part of the same society that we live in and they should be given the right to marriage and steers people toward their emotions. Sullivan continues to talk about the differences we have overcome within the last hundreds of years to include racial, gender roles and believes that we can look beyond same-sex marriages. Based on both articles, I believe in Sullivan only because I am an emotional person and his argument came from the heart. Morally, I know it is not correct to love a person of the same-sex, but if thats the way that people feel then who are we to deprive them of that love. However, I do not think that getting married as a way to express their unconditional love and commitment to each other is the answer. What matters is that you love each other but you do not need to solidify your marriage with a piece of paper. Sullivan wrote a book called Love Undetectable and wrote an editorial about homosexual marriages called Let Gays Marry which was featured in Newsweek. William Bennett is the editor of The Book of Virtues. Bennett is also one of the creators of Empower America which is an organization that gives access to individuals to be heard on any media technology. William Bennett has served as Secretary of Education and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities under Presiden t Ronald Reagan and as a Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George H.W. Bush. His editorial entitled Leave Marriage Alone was also published in Newsweek. BIBLIOGRAPHYHoly Bible ( Gay marriages should be allowed, state judge rules, The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 4, 1996Bennett, William