Title: Same-Sex Marriage and the Separation of Church and State
Headings: Same-Sex Marriage and the Separation of Church and State
Same-Sex Marriage and the Separation of Church and State
Laurie Garnes Follow
Medical Fee Dispute Resolution Officer (Auditor III) at Texas Department of Insurance
Separation of Church and State: Constitutional or Traditional?
Moral Discourse and the Supreme Court
The Case of Same-Sex Marriage
Public Viewpoint
Conclusion
References
Laurie Garnes
Medical Fee Dispute Resolution Officer (Auditor III) at Texas Department of Insurance
Kenneth F. Grimm
Director of Digital Media, San Angelo Standard-Times | USA TODAY NETWORK

Content: It cannot be beneficial to society to demoralize or demean its citizens. By denying equal marriage rights to a certain section of society, this is what is done (Olson, 2010). In societies where same-sex marriage has been accepted, studies have examined the couples to determine the consequences of this legal change. MacIntosh, Reissing & Andruff (2010) found that same-sex couples “embraced the opportunity to be responsible for their partner in all of the legal and social ways that come with marriage and articulated a deep sense of belongingness and feelings of entitlement that had historically been denied to them …” This sense of belonging can only be considered healthy and beneficial to society. Public Viewpoint
The issue of same-sex marriage has been getting more press in recent years. The demand of same-sex couples to equal rights in marriage has prompted an upsurge in attention and reflection. Greg Lewis, a public-opinion specialist, notes that there has been a significant increase in the last eight years, in support for same-sex marriage, estimating that there is majority support in sixteen states (Klein, 2012). There have been a number of changes to state constitutions allowing for same-sex marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships, although the civil unions and domestic partnerships do not carry the same legal or social benefits of marriage recognition. Thirty-seven states have now legalized same-sex marriage and the bans on same-sex marriage were overturned and are currently being appealed in eight other states (ProCon.org, 2015). In 2012, when this paper was first written, there were only ten states with legal same-sex marriage and ten states allowed same-sex civil unions or domestic partnerships.