At this time, very few issues are as controversial as gay marriage. It is a very easy way to get a conversation started but also an easy way to end one. Truly it is a morality issue, very much like the issue that is abortion. In some states, gay marriage is legal. In other states, it is not. This is how the issue should be handled.
The issue of gay marriage should be handled much like the issue of medicinal (and now in some cases, recreational) cannabis. It should be decided by the state. If a state legislature feels that it is necessary for the state to allow a marriage between same-sex couples, then so be it. Should the state feel differently on the issue, it should not be legalized. States need to be able to differentiate from one to the next, and different laws allow that to be the case.
There are plenty of states that allow for same-sex marriage. These include Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington in addition to the District of Columbia. Rhode Island acknowledges same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, while California recognizes same-sex marriage on a conditional basis.
As more states begin to legalize same-sex marriage, it will attract even more attention. It should not be treated as a divisive issue because, at the end of the day, we are all human beings. No one person is better than the other because of where they were born or the color of their skin or who they are attracted to.
It is very difficult to tell a person they can’t see their life partner in the hospital because they are not married. This is an issue for a bicameral legislature to decide, unless you happen to reside in Nebraska, the only state with a unicameral legislative body.
No one reading this will have an issue with the fact that Nebraska is the only state in the nation with a legislative body like that. It is a state right, just as how same-sex marriage should be a state issue; it is too inflammatory of a topic for the whole nation.
When conservative Christians and hardened liberals begin to bicker, nothing good comes as a result. Allow this issue to be decided by the states. Many states have already allowed it, and soon more will follow. This issue does not have a happy ending if it is dealt with by the United States Senate and House of Representatives.
Leave a Reply