Three Very Late Night Annotations

Robertson, Campbell. “An issue of gay rights, but not a simple one.” New York Times. 12 May 2012: A1(L). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.

A New York Times writer, Robertson, writes about something that hits close to home, locally, in Charlotte. He does not speak about Charlotte’s rise in banking jobs, but the same-sex marriage debate. Within the first sentence Robertson says, “North Carolina is as good a place as any and possibly better than most to explore the often contradictory sentiments at the heart of the same-sex marriage debate” essentially dispelling the thesis without making the audience think hard. He informs the reader that, North Carolina is now another one of the thirty states that ban same-sex marriage. He is not surprised of the ban, because of N.C.’s progressive past, with a population that is still majorly socially conservative; although, he is surprised how decisive the citizens of N.C voted. Also, Robertson found the decisiveness of the state to pass this law to be contradictory. To support this statement, he polled a survey at Elon University, a liberal arts college, which stated two-thirds of the participants, supported some legal recognition for same-sex couples. Robertson observes various vantage points to why N.C. banned same-sex marriage, thus making the article neutral since he shines light on all ends of the spectrum from religious figure heads, which are socially conservative, to gay rights activists. I will compare the recent ban of same-sex marriage in our own state to other states views on same-sex marriage. I will provide examples how and why the ban of gay marriage in our state is socially unjust.

“Defense of Marriage Act of 1996.” Gale Encyclopedia of American Law. Ed. Donna Batten. 3rd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 2010. 408-409. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.

The author writes the thesis in the first sentence saying; the Defense of Marriage Act is a law that federally denies recognition of same-sex marriages and lets states refuse to some same-sex marriages licensed in other states. The Defense of Marriage Act was enacted in 1996 and signed by Bill Clinton. Congress enacted this law because they did not want homosexuals to have the same federal benefits as legal heterosexual married couples. There are two parts to the actual document. One part says no other state or Indian tribe is required to legally recognize the same-sex marriage of someone of another state or Indian tribe. The second part defines marriage and spouse to federally bar same-sex marriage from recognition through these definitions. The author goes on to explain many more topics, like the opponents views of the law. This is the second source on the Defense of Marriage Act, but multiple sources make the information much more credible. The information on Opposing View Points will be useful for credible background information, since the information is coming from an Encyclopedia of American Law. I will be able to add more information, since this source has more information.

“What is the Defense of Marriage Act.” Wall Street Journal (Online): n/a. Feb 23 2011. The Wall Street Journal. Web. 11 Oct. 2012 .

The Defense of Marriage Act was created in 1996, signed by Bill Clinton. This federal law defines marriage as the partnership of a man and a woman, not same-sex couples. Marriage of same-sex couples is legal in few states, but the people who are married in these states are not considered married under federal law. This makes it impossible for a partner to inherit tax benefits from the deceased spouse. The anonymous Wall Street Journal author states the thesis clearly as, “The law says the federal government will only recognize marriages that are between a man and a woman.” The anonymous author explained that the opponents of the marriage law believe the law violates the Constitution’s equal protection of the law. Under careful consideration of the current judicial administration, they believe the marriage law is unconstitutional. The law will not be overturned and most likely will not be changed, unless a court overrules it. A similar thread appeared recently in California, where voter-approved state law, Proposition 8, banned gay marriage. It is now being considered unconstitutional and the Defense of Marriage Law is being reconsidered. This source gives light to what the Defense of Marriage Law is. The Defense of Marriage Law essentially bans same-sex marriage at a federal level, so this source will give me credible background information on the law.