John F. Kennedy once said, “The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of even one man are threatened.” » Same-sex marriage should be legalized in the United States. The two main reasons for this are the unconstitutionality of denying same-sex marriage and the fact that it goes against basic human rights. First, it is unconstitutional for federal law to prohibit same-sex marriage. In his case Lawrence v. In Texas in 2003, the Supreme Court overturned previous precedents on sexuality by declaring laws that made homosexual sodomy a crime unconstitutional, finding that although the Constitution says nothing about sex or marriage, there is nevertheless a right to consensual sexual activity between adults. this government cannot regulate. That's because of the vigorous dissent of conservative justices, who said the Constitution leaves questions of marriage and morality up to the states and the democratic process and, therefore, federal courts have no authority to impose their own moral judgments. Despite this awareness, same-sex couples have been subject to restrictions for decades. The "Defense of Marriage Act" took effect in 1996. This law "amends the federal judicial code to provide that no state, territory, or possession of the United States or Indian tribe shall be required to give effect to a marriage between people. of the same sex under the laws of any other jurisdiction or to any rights or claims arising from that relationship. This law also brings into play a federal definition of “marriage” and “spouse”; marriage being defined as “only a legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife” and spouse being defined as “only a person of the opposite sex who is husband or wife”. Second, refuse two people... ... middle of paper ...... uh. Internet. December 18, 2013. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=87ddfadd-bb20-4b0f-8855-3dc32c237fd4%40sessionmgr114&vid=1&hid=119&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN= 8 9621143 • Garcia, Monique and Ray Long. “Lawmakers affirm gays’ right to marry.” Chicago Tribune. November 6, 2013: 1. Researcher on SIRS issues. Internet. December 18, 2013. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMO0798-0-5763&artno=0000356535&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Same-sex%20marriage&title=Lawmakers%20Affirm%20Gays% 27%20Right%20to%20Wed&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N#citation• SULLIVAN, ANDREW. “The President of the United States shook the mainstream in a single interview.” Newsweek 159.21 (2012): 22. MasterFILE Premier. Internet. December 18, 2013 &AN=75292760