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The issues that are currently part of a new civil rights campaign: gay marriage and civil unions. To avoid getting into the history of marriage and the strict definitions placed by religion and government on marriage itself, let us deal only with the history of marriage in America. For as long as America has been a country, marriage has been available, and it was always deemed to be between a man and a woman. While it was not always written that way, it was common knowledge that this is what a marriage entailed. Over the course of American legal history, the rights and privileges of marriage have changed, but the parties to a marriage have always remained the same: one man, one woman.

With a new age of acceptance and tolerance making it much more socially acceptable for gays to live without as much fear of ridicule and persecution, America has found an increasing number of men and women who are living their lives openly homosexual, seeking partners to share their lives. This group of individuals now finds that, even though they are willing to bear the responsibilities, they are not allowed the basic rights afforded to their heterosexual counterparts marriage. With marriage being denied to same gender couples, many other basic protections both personal and legal are not afforded to couples who just happen to be the same gender.

With an increasing desire from the gay community, and equally increasing support from certain members of heterosexual community, and with television, music, and media showing gay couples and gay persons in a light not before seen, the gay civil rights campaign is swinging into full-force. Anti-gay discrimination laws are popping up all over the place, in every state and even at the federal level. With its momentum, change is being effected. However, the resulting change, while a step in the right direction, is leaving much to be desired from a legal standpoint, and to a gay couple, from a very personal standpoint as well.

While marriage is attempting to be "defined" in a manner that it has never had to be defined before, we find ourselves facing things such as the "Defense of Marriage Act" as well as several state rulings on the definition of marriage. While one side of the struggle rushes to put into place legislation to keep the status quo, the other side is pushing to challenge preconceived notions and bring about change for the equal rights of all Americans, heterosexual and homosexual.

Amid cries of "judicial tyranny"

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