Legislating Sexuality

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Term Paper Title	Legislating Sexuality
# of Words	1027
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.11

Legislating Sexuality

Legislating Sexuality

     On September 21, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of
Marriage Act, a bill proposed by Republican Bob Barr of Georgia in order to
prohibit the marriage of gay and lesbian couples.(CWA)  Although this bill
cannot be called "unconstitutional", by forbidding the marriage of same-sex
couples the government is taking a stand on an issue that does not require its
lofty opinion and judgment.  Marriage has long been an institution that was
based on the love of two individuals and their future together. While
procreation is also considered in the definition, there are no laws in our
society stating that it is necessary, or even important.  With this bill, the
United States government is not defending the "tradition of family" but instead,
enforcing prejudice and hatred against a group that is already struggling to
gain equal rights and acceptance in  a society that has long closed its
collective mind to homosexuality.
     Since the dawn of American history, equal rights among U.S. citizens has
been a hotly debated issue. With the Civil War and Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation, slavery was prohibited. Women gained the right to vote with the
ratification of the Constitution's nineteenth amendment on August 26, 1920(Cooke,
157). Although African Americans gained suffrage through the fifteenth amendment
in 1870 (Cooke, 151), it was not until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 that they were actually freed from discrimination by the government(Cooke,
150).  Why is it then that in today's modern American society, an institution
that prides itself on being "the home of the free and the land of the brave", a
vast number of Americans are hiding beneath a shroud of ignorance when it comes
to the issue of homosexuality?  It seems that the gay community is being
attacked out of fear and intolerance with this new bill, the same vices that
threatened African Americans and women.  It  is disturbing that even today, as
we prepare to enter a new millennium, such primitive forces are still at work.
     Even the title of this bill is offensive, "The Defense of Marriage Act".
It implies that the tradition of marriage must be defended against corruption.
This notion is ridiculous considering that a marriage today should be based on
love between two individuals.  There are countless heterosexual marriages that
end in divorce everyday.  If people are to argue that the gay community will
destroy marriage, they are mistake...

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