"I, Olga, take you, Craig, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us apart" were the words I said in a courthouse couple of years ago when I decided to marry my boyfriend at the time. What if I was in love with a female? Would the vow be any different? Would the love be any different? Being in love, taking care of, and growing old with someone is all that should be required to have a happy marriage. Today I am going to define the term marriage, talk about medical and constitutional issues, the ability to adopt, and the economic prosperity associated with legalizing the same-sex marriage.
Each person has his/her own definition of happiness and what a normal marriage is. Some people say that a historical traditional marriage is a union between a male and a female. But is that a true statement? The ancient Hebrews engaged in polygamy. King Solomon, according to the Bible, had 700 wives and 300 concubines (Editorial Staff). Men have had multiple wives in cultures all over the world, including Africa, China and America in the 19th century. The idea of marriage as a romantic union between one man and one woman is relatively recent development. Same-sex unions aren't a recent invention. Until the 13th century gay marriages were common in churches across the Mediterranean. The events were identical to any other marriages at the time: joining hands at the altar, the marriage prayers and ceremonial kiss (Editorial Staff). Interracial marriage was illegal in many US states until 1967 also ("A historical look at Marriage"). Why? Did that contradict "the traditional marriage"? In 1967 Supreme Court revoked the laws that prohibited interracial unions.
We can see that the definition of marriage has been changing over time, just like people's opinions about it. When it comes to the gay marriage, the society's opinion about legalizing it has drastically changed over the last 20 years.