simply traditional in their wording of "man and wife" or if that is truly the way it is meant to be. This brings up the issue of whether religious or secular definitions should prevail and how to go about changing or amending these definitions. If a marriage is truly a unity of two individuals in love, however, who is the final decision-maker in how far those lines can be drawn? Is it really the place of our government, or even ourselves to tell a couple, regardless of their gender or sexuality that they may not be united legally in their love?This question, one of morality and of legality, has become a pressing issue in many states in the recent years. At the present day, no state in America has legalized the marriage of a same-sex couple (Swanson, 3/2000 p2). However, the latest trend in legislation is towards a ban on validating a marriage of a same-sex couple that has been legalized in another state or country. The first step which initiated this proposition came in Hawaii and began in 1994. Hawaii’s courts have held that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples is a violation of the state’s constitution (Gallagher, 6/98 p2). In 1997, gay couples in Hawaii petitioned for legal recognition and won a groundbreaking compromise: domestic partnership (Wolf, 2/98 p1). Although this is not a marriage license, it does promise a more valid partnership in the eyes of the courts and of the society for the future. At the same time, however, thirty states have now passed bans on same-sex marriages outright, and in 1996, President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of gay marriages (Wolf, 2/98 p3). The state of Vermont is also on the front page when it comes to the gay marriage movement. In a Vermont Supreme Court decision in December of 1999, Chief Justice Jeffrey L. Amestoy told the state legislature either to provide licenses or set up a domestic partner system "extending...
