2Outline: Law, Religion, and Same Sex Marriages in the US

Maria A. Espiritu Rosario, Ashley Vega Muñiz

Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law

Law & Religion- Law101

Prof. Héctor Rubén Sánchez

March 8, 2021

 

 

Outline: Law, Religion, and Same Sex Marriages in the US

I. Background information

a. Definition of same sex marriages: Unions between individuals who are of the same gender.

b. Countries that preceded the US in legalizing same sex marriages.

c. Thesis statement: The acceptance of same sex marriages in the US is the new normal (Battiston, 2014).

II. Same Sex marriages and religion

a. Religious establishments which oppose same-sex marriages, such as the Roman Catholic Church (Clarke, 2019).

b. The liberal Christians who embrace gay marriages (Clarke, 2019; Murphy, 2005).

III. Same sex marriages and the law

a. The significance of the Goodridge v. Department of Public Health decision by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (Clarke, 2019; Reid, 2008).

b. The significance of the 2015 US Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (Clarke, 2019)

IV. The future of same sex marriages

a. The minor challenges which same-gender couples are facing to be ironed out as the legal framework continues to evolve (Humphreys, 2006).

b. The acceptance will increase in the future

V. Conclusion

a. Re-stating the thesis statement.

b. A recap of the main points

Preliminary Bibliography

Battiston, A. (2014). The legal history of same-sex marriage in Canada. Canadian Law Library Review, 39(1), 8-12.

Clarke, J. A. (2019). They, them, and theirs. Harvard Law Review, 132(3), 894-991.

Humphreys, J. (2006). The civil partnership act 2004, same-sex marriage and the church of England. Ecclesiastical Law Journal, 8(38), 289-306.

Murphy, R. (2005). Same-sex marriage and the same old constitution. Constitutional Forum, 14(3), 21-32.

Reid, C. J. (2008). Marriage: Its relationship to religion, law, and the state. Jurist, 68(1), 252-297.