In 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that all states must pass the same sex marriage. Prior to this, there were 37 states in the United States that passed the same sex marriage. There were six states in the Midwest banned same sex marriage, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio.
In 1973, Maryland was the first state in the United States to ban same sex marriage. Since then, same sex marriage has caused much debate in the United States. According to a study by Indiana University sociology professor Brian Powell, he found that opposition to same sex marriage is usually based on moral reasons against homosexuality. Although he believes that everyone has the right to assert their own ideas and values, he points out that morality cannot be a persuasive reason in law. Supporters regard the moral argument as unconstitutional, and believe that the opponents are hostile to homosexuals, reject homosexuals for civil rights, and treat them as inferior. Powell’s research concluded that the opposition to same sex marriage lacked support for the public interest.
Powell said that social changes in the United States are usually carried out slowly like glaciers, but the acceptance of same sex marriage in recent years has been surprisingly fast, due to legislation and related political activities.
According to the Gallup survey, the public opinion about same sex marriage has gradually changed. In 1996, 27% of people accepted the same sex marriage, and this year it increased to 63%. 84% of adults under the age of 30 accept same sex marriage, and 77% of Democrats tend to believe that homosexuality is morally acceptable. 51% of adults over the age of 65, and 49% of Republicans have the opposite view.
Patricia Ewert and Vernita Gray were the first same sex couples married in Illinois in 2013. Ewert thought that after she got married, others treated her role as a wife.
Robert Davis, currently living in Minnesota, had involved in the same sex relationship for 27 years, but as a new Christian since 2018, he is no longer homosexual and accepts how God made him. He supports that morals can benefit the public even which the public is secular, such as laws against stealing and murder. He also questioned some of the survey findings that a married homosexual couple is happier than a heterosexual marriage. As well, he says, surveys can be easily biased and should not be the foundation for our moral obligations.
Robert also wanted to say to Christians: “this is a republic and not a theocracy so it is of no surprise that people will follow their own wills and depart from God. But that doesn’t mean Christians are to stop being a moral voice in calling people to return to God and repent. And therefore we can argue we do have a moral obligation to not normalize immoral behavior and relationships before kids (just one moral obligation)”.
