Gay Marriage:

The Online Controversy

 

The issue of gay marriage has taken the nation by storm, with increasing numbers of municipalities getting into the act in the wake of the legal battles over gay marriage in the U.S. and Canada. Hawai'i, Vermont, Ontario all went first, offering marriage licensing and civil union ceremonies to gay and lesbian couples. You can see some of the online sites regarding these marriage and civil union opportunities at:

The web has become the place where many controversies are hashed out and debated, and none has caught fire quite like this issue in recent years. Some web sites offer a home for debating, as The Debate Network exemplifies. Some sites, like PEW, offer both general resources and, in some cases, polls and discussion about issues like gay marriage.

Your task: surf away. Look at the various sites you can find, stories regarding the issue, and pay particular attention to GLBT web sites dealing with gay marriage. Based on what you have read (and provide evidence, documentation, testimony, etc., correctly cited), do you believe:

  1. The call for a national Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman will succeed? Why/why not?
  2. Additional cities, towns, and other municipalities in the U.S. will offer gay couples a marriage license and civil marriage (as opposed to union) ceremony? Why/why not?
  3. The debate over gay marriage is a religious or secular concern? What leads you to this conclusion?
  4. The gay community online believes that current attempts to keep gay marriage legal in the U.S. (at least in Massachusetts) will be successful? Why/why not? (Do not look at long-term success here; deal in the near term -- 1-2 years.)
  5. The wide world of bloggers offers a unique forum for discussion of gay marriage? Explain.

Stick to 5 pages, maximum. Please cite sources. Follow APA. This paper is due 8 November in class.