The study of contemporary sociology helps sociologist to account the changes that are prevalent in the society. One current issue that is common in the contemporary sociology is the issue of gender stratification and discrimination.
During the old days, men remained as the dominant gender throughout the history, while women on the hand were considered as the discriminated and segregated group. There are various reasons why gender is an important aspect to investigate. For instance, the public policies should be tailored to ensure that there is no any discrimination and everyone is guaranteed an equal access to life, liberty and quest for happiness.
Thus, policies should not be formulated in favor of either side as they would be termed as being promoters of inequality. Thus, the passing of the gay marriages legislation in New York City was very important, since it helped those people that are gay get an opportunity for pursuit of their happiness which can only be ensured by be allowed to marry their gay counterparts (Adams & Sydie 9).
The bible which represents the word of God does not recognize unions of people with the same sex. Instead, the bible rebukes such occurrences as expressed in Romans 1:27. The bible is the guide that leads the Christians all over the world and it advocates for marriages of people with opposite sex. This symbolizes marriages between men and women. Thus, the passing of the New York legislation that supports marriages between people of the same sex is contrary to the teaching of the bible and wrong.
Surprisingly, the same bible acknowledges the existence of unions between people of the same sex as expressed in Isaiah 60:2. The bible states that due to their evilness, men will lust for one another and commit what it describes as a shameful act. The other reason why the bible does not support gay marriages is because legalizing gay marriages ruins the sanctity of marriage.
Despite the high condemnations of gay marriages in the bible, it is surprisingly that many Christians are opting for the gay marriages. Many such people argue that there is no need to preserve the sanctity of marriage, since it has been nowadays greatly damaged. They argue that the divorce rate has amplified to a high of up to 50%. They complain that such a high divorce rate signifies that, although many people are married to spouses that belong to the opposite sex, most of these couples are not happy with their marriages.
Thus, the government is in dire need to recognize the importance of gay marriage as an important remedy for the marriage institution. They argue that by the most governments restricting the legalization of gay marriages, it is being discriminative to the minority group which is not fair. Therefore, the legalization of the gay marriage in New York City was a great step for the senate.
The high extra marital affairs that are prevalent in the contemporary world also depict how unfulfilling these marriages between people of opposite sex have become. Therefore, people should be given their freedom to pursue their happiness without being subjected to any sort of discrimination. The legalizing of the gay marriages in New York City meant that the gay residents in the city were at liberty to marry their gay partners and the marriage being recognized by the law.
The issue on gay marriages is a prevalent issue in many places worldwide. This is as a result of the legalization of the gay marriage in many countries. Although many countries such as the New York City have legalized the gay marriages, it is generally accepted that same sex couples do not have the ability to marry.
This is because marriage is considered as a private issue, but not a political issue. The use of conflict theory assists in explaining the issue of gay marriage more effectively. The theory depicts about the pluralistic nature of society which possess a differential distribution of power among various groups in the society.
Some groups which entail the elites use their power to create laws that address their selfish interests. The passing of the gay marriage legislation is a good example of such a law. This is because it is generally accepted that there cannot be any marriage between people of the same sex since there cannot be even any procreation which is a paramount ingredient of a marriage institution.
Similarly, the union is also rebuked by both the bible and Quran teaching which makes it immaterial. The only reason why the legislation for marriages of gay people is because some few people who are the economical and political elite in New York City wanted to fulfill their selfish interests in disguise of pretending that they wanted to address the needs of the gay people who were greatly discriminated in New York City (Parsons 35).
The functionalism theory takes the society as a complete system that is composed of interdependent elements that are greatly interrelated. These interdependent and interrelated elements include institutions such as the church, schools, political systems, mass media and the family.
When these elements work together in a coherent manner, each element is considered to take its appropriate part to bring stability of the whole system. The theory explains that all these institutions function for the well good of the entire society and there should never conflict s.
The legalization of gay marriages in the New York City is an example of a dysfunctional of the society. The society generally believes and accepts marriages between couples of opposite sex. Then the legalization of marriages of the same sex in New York City brings a change in the pattern of the society in New York City, as people are used to witnessing marriages of people of opposite sex. The senate act of passing the legislation of legalizing the gay marriages brings a lot of conflict between the institutions that form the society.
The church is an important constituent of the elements that make up the society institutions. Thus, by those in the political leadership who comprises the senate legalizing the gay marriages in New York City brings a society conflict between the church and the political system which if not well solved can cause a lot of disharmony within the society (Coser 12).
The symbolic interactions often regarded as symbolic interactionism emphasizes the need for sociologists to consider the signs and details every day. They should consider what the symbol means and how they interact among themselves. It believed that people react according to how they interpret these signs. The social interaction assumes that for effective sexually communication to exist, it is important for one to view the world from the other person’s perspective.
The concept of sexual scripting is noted by the ability to role play which enables individuals to evaluate sexual terms of themselves and those of others. Nevertheless, the inability to role play results to sexual misunderstanding. Proper use of the concept of sexual scripting often help in establishing sexual compatibility between individuals that share similar sexual characteristics. Therefore, the pre-assumed concept that marriages should be restricted between couples of opposite sex is not a universally accepted phenomenon.
This is because there are factions of individuals that show differing sexual characteristics and should not be neglected in order to establish harmony in the society. Therefore, legalization of gay marriage in New York City is very much in line with the theory of interactionalism since it gives these individuals an opportunity to identify with their gay counterparts who share similar sexual characteristics (Macionis 17).
The issue about gay marriages is very controversial, since various scholars give differing opinions about it. It is generally accepted that Gay marriages cannot occur since marriages are designed between those who are of opposite sex. What the gay marriages symbolizes are partnership where people who share the same sex opt to come together and live as husbands and wives.
The gay marriages is known to have caused a lot of conflict among the institutions of the society such as a continuous fight between the church and the political systems for passing the gay marriage legislation which contradicts the church teaching.
However, the senate argues that it is mandated to pass legislations that ensure equality of all groups involved, but not support policies that are discriminative and segregates. The theory of gender stratification supports the gay marriages as it gives the state the mandate to ensure that everyone is guaranteed the freedom of life, liberty and opportunity to pursue one’s happiness. Therefore the passing of the gay legislation in the New York City was a great step in addressing the needs of the gay minority in the City.
Works Cited
Adams, Nelson and Sydie, R. A. Sociological Theory. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge.2001, print.
Coser, Luke. The Family: Its Structure and Functions, New York: St. Martin’s Press. 2000, print.
Macionis, John. Sociology. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.2009,print.
Parsons, Timothy. Sociological Theory and Modern Society, New York: Free Press.1967, print.
The New English Bible. NY: Oxford University Press, 1972