The race for the legalization of Gay Marriage has been the one of the biggest issues concerning the American Government, at this time. The first time that same sex marriage became a national issue was back in 1993 in Hawaii when “judges found that the state's constitution required a compelling reason not to extend to gays equal marriage rights” (“A Brief History of Gay Marriage”). After this case in 1993, Congress decided that they should create the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which made sure that homosexual couples could not receive benefits that they would traditionally receive if they were to marry. Ever since, the states have been struggling to decide what side they are going to take on this issue. “Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage in 2004 and since then, 13 other states have legalized gay marriage, bringing the total to 14 states in the United States” (Johnson).
Present-day Democrats and Republicans have varying views on the issue of same-sex marriage. “While 30% of Americans believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, 28% think they should be allowed to form civil unions but more than 36% of the American population does not believe that gay couple’s should be recognized” (Jmhobson). America’s views on same-sex couples has not varied throughout the years and today, only a minority of the people believe that gay marriages should be legal. “Polls have shown that more than six our of every 10 Democrats believe that gay couples can form civil unions or can be married while more than 50% of all Republicans do not support these options” (Jmhobson)
As a result, it is proven that more Democratic Americans will support the legalization of gay marriages rather than Republican Americans. Same-sex marriages has been a states issue that is now becoming one of the most popular issues of the Government, next to the Iraqi war. The race for legalization has been proven to be a difficult task that has less than a third of the American population on its side.
Sources:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1808617,00.html
http://gaylife.about.com/od/samesexmarriage/a/legalgaymarriag.htm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/13/opinion/polls/main4180335.shtml
