Part one of term paper
On September 21, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, a bill proposed by Republican Bob Barr of Georgia in order to prohibit the marriage of gay and lesbian couples.(CWA) Although this bill cannot be called "unconstitutional", by forbidding the marriage of same-sex couples the government is taking a stand on an is ...

Part two of term paper
... States government is not defending the "tradition of family" but instead, enforcing prejudice and hatred against a group that is already struggling to gain equal rights and acceptance in a society that has long closed its collective mind to homosexuality. Since the dawn of American history, equal rights among U.S. citizens has been a hotly debated issue. With the Civil War and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, slavery was prohibited. Women gained the right to vote with the ratification of ...