Ask America votes split 50-50 on gay marriage

It may seem as if the economic issue is a top priority in people's mind as we lead up to the midterm elections but the debate over gay marriage has its own spotlight. Currently, gay marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Washington D.C. However, the five states only allow such practice after courts or legislatures step in. Popular vote on gay marriage has never legalize the unions. Marriage is not the only area of gay rights. Recently, the debate over the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is strongly debated.

Last month, a federal judge in California declared the military's policy unconstitutional and may order the military to stop enforcing it any day now. A few weeks later, a judge in Washington ruled that a lesbian who had been discharged from the Air Force Reserve must be reinstated because her dismissal violated her constitutional rights. Any of these cases may end up in the Supreme Court. This issue can be categorized under the institutional agenda since it is an issue currently being debated in different courts around the country.

Ask America has been collecting people's thoughts on the issue and currently the votes are 50-50. Some supporting the issue stated that the people in the gay community has the right to marry and individuals who does not support the issue said that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Additionally, people also brought up a point that comes up fairly often for the debate: government should stay out of this issue altogether.

The future of this issue will depend on how official and unofficial actors decide to do. It will have to depend on how courts rule these cases (and if any of these cases end up in the Supreme Court of the U.S.), what kinds of actions citizens, interest groups, political parties, and the media will take, and so on. In addition, one interesting point that people point out is whether or not the government should be involved in this issue. Does the government have the legitimate claim of responsibility to this problem? By thinking of this question, we then ask ourselves whether or not gay marriage is a public problem. If so, what is the scope, intensity, duration, and the resources of the problem? If not, what is a better way to resolve this issue? These questions are definitely worth some time to think and analyze.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_askamerica/ask-america-votes-split-50-50-on-gay-marriage

Post by: Christina Cheng