.
These basic rights, denied not just to some, but all homosexuals are mainly concerned with the institution of marriage. The argument can be made that marriage is something that homosexuals shouldn't want to take part in, but this is incorrect. The legal status involving marriage gives spouses certain state and federal benefits such as "automatic inheritance, burial determination, divorce protections, immunity from testifying against spouse," certain membership, taxation and insurance breaks to which all people, including homosexuals are entitled to. Despite this long list of unattainable benefits, same sex marriage is still being denied due to the moral dilemmas some feel surround the issue. Many ask, "Can marriage be simply redefined in the law? Should an institution that is available for deadbeat dads and convicted felons be denied law-abiding lesbian mothers of young children? Can a fundamental right to marry be unequally dispensed?" (Sullivan 87).
The answer is yes, marriage can and should be redefined by the law. Vermont's legislature passed a law that legally recognizes a "civil union," but it does not include all the benefits of marriage heterosexual couples are afforded. .
In 1996 President Clinton signed into the law the "Defense of Marriage Act. The act defined marriage as being between two people of the opposite sex, as well as making it legal for one state to deny a marriage certificate of another state if it is between two people of the same sex (Sullivan 201). This piece of legislation "legally" discriminates against the estimated ten percent of the American population. All fifty states currently refuse to recognize same sex marriages, however Vermont, California, Hawaii, and most recently Massachusetts have begun to take steps to recognize the relationships of homosexuals.
Hawaii's brush with same sex marriages represents an up and coming trend of court battles between homosexual couples and state governments.
