The Civil War on Civil Rights: The Gay Marriage Battle

Many people feel the sanctity of marriage is threatened by the allowance of same-sex couples to legally marry. Our nation is engaging in a civil war over the definition of marriage. It seems that most heterosexual people think civil unions between same-sex couples would serve the purpose. However, the truth is that the mere word "marriage" encompasses so much more than present day civil unions do. Marriage and civil unions are quite different. Civil unions offer in many cases simply a ceremony while others offer a few benefits from the state in which they are performed. Meanwhile, marriage provides many state, federal, and health benefits along with global recognition. The legal right to marry is a civil right not just a heterosexual right.
Civil unions are like second-rate marriages for second-class citizens. There are an estimated 1,100 federal rights, benefits, tax breaks, protections, and privileges awarded to heterosexual couples instantly and simply with marital status. Civil unions legally unite same-sex couples sometimes granting a few legal benefits that vary in the few states that recognize them. In some instances, adoption is possible for same-sex couples who have had a civil union as it is for married couples. Some employers in states that recognize this union offer health and life insurance to the partner. One of the problems with this relatively new concept is that it can confuse those who may have to interpret it. Employers don't have to offer domestic partnership, as it is often called, benefits. For example, without the terminology in place employers can stick to the spouse and dependants only discounts for health insurance. In the instance of a health- related emergency, a hospital's staff does not have to acknowledge the domestic partner in regards to care for the patient. A family member can walk in and overturn crucial decisions made by the partner that were more than likely based on the patient's wishes. Same-sex couples can go to an attorney for substantial fees to set-up a few legal contracts between them such as wills and powers-of-attorney. However, those contracts can be overruled in court to a blood relative's favor. This, therefore, is discrimination.
A vote on civil rights is unconstitutional. In California, Proposition 8 was passed, legally banning gay marriage in the state. This came after a summer of love in which many same-sex couples were able to marry due to a California Supreme Court ruling. There was a very deceitful ad campaign by the Proposition 8 proponents implying that children's lives will somehow be ruined if gay marriage prevails and children are forced to be raised in a society that permits and teaches the acknowledgement and acceptance of same-sex couples. Proposition 8 is so ironic. Does it really seem constitutional to allow people to vote on the civil rights and liberties of a persecuted minority? Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment states as follows, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State 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." Reflecting on this, in an interracial marriage case, Loving vs. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled on June 12, 1967,
"The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men. Marriage is one of the ‘basic civil rights of man,’ fundamental to our very existence and survival." The language used here is universal and spans the human race. The majority won in the case of Proposition 8. Are we really surprised? But on a national level, are there not more important things our voices should be heard for? How about we vote on war, bailouts, and other things that in some way affect us all instead of depriving a group of people something that no one else will lose. Does it make sense to vote on women's rights related to abortion?

Marriage means different things to different people. To many, marriage is a religious act, a union recognized by God. But, are all opposite-sex marriages truly recognized by God? In fact, marriage is so much more than just a religious, cultural, or a legal term. For gay couples, marriage is about social recognition and more importantly to be treated fairly by law. Included in the 1,100 federal rights, benefits, protections, and privileges married couples enjoy are Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, health insurance, Medicaid, hospital visitation, estate taxes, retirement savings, pensions, family leave, and immigration law. Couples in a civil union cannot obtain many of these according to the way civil unions are presently defined.
Gays do not wish to "redefine marriage." Gay couples want to no longer be treated like second-class citizens who pay the same amount of taxes without having the breaks and protections that marriage provides. Civil unions mean separate and still not equal.