"Gay Marriage" is as Traditional as "Straight Marriage"

    The right to marry is defined by the United Nations as a basic human right (U.N. 3).  In spite of this, millions of people in the United States are prohibited, in some cases by law, from marrying as they choose.  The people of whom I speak are gays, lesbians, and bisexuals who wish to marry others of the same sex.  These are citizens who work, pay taxes, and own property, but they are denied this fundamental right that other taxpayers are allowed.  This situation is intolerable and contrary to the spirit and law of the United States.

  Many of those who wish to deny marriage to same-sex couples claim to have history on their side. President Bush is one who claims that the fundamental institution of marriage has historically been composed of “one man and one woman.” (Bush.) History itself, however, does not support this claim: throughout recorded history, human societies have recognized and sanctioned same-sex marriages (Harmon par. 9). Marriage is a varied and dynamic institution. It has taken many forms, and among those forms is same-sex marriage (AAA).

  The American Indian custom of “two-spirit” marriage institutionalized matrimony between two people of the same biological sex. “Two-spirit” people were considered to be, spiritually speaking, of both genders at once, or even a third (Eskridge 40). Female two-spirits married women, and male two-spirits married men. These marriages were often considered advantageous to the one whom the two-spirit married, as some cultures held two-spirit people in high social esteem.

  During the Yuan and Ming dynasties in China, same-sex marriages between two men were accepted and recognized by society. These marriages were undertaken with all the formalities: the bride price, standard marriage rituals, and social forms associated with “normal” marriages were all present and adhered to. These unions peaked in the seventeenth century, but persisted well into the eighteenth century, despite persecution under the Qing dynasty (Eskridge 41-42).