Sundiang 1

RJ Sundiang
Prof. Lundgren
Poli 1, 10:30am
1 October 2014

Same-Sex Marriage
As the 44th president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama is both the
nations first African American president as well as its first president to openly
support same-sex marriage. The timeline of same-sex marriage as a political issue
begins in 1970 when two University of Minnesota students, Richard John 'Jack'
Baker and James Michael McConnell, applied to Hennepin County District Court
clerk Gerald Nelson for a marriage license, but were denied on the basis that they
were both men. Since then, a lot has changed, including the views of the American
people. Currently, 26 states allow same-sex marriage, leaving less than 50% of the
American population without the freedom to marry.1 I believe that same-sex
marriage is an important topic because not only has it gained an immense amount of
national attention over the years, but also because I firmly support that all
Americans, and all people in general, should be able to marry the person that they
want to. The reader should expect to learn about the history of same-sex marriage
as a political hot button topic as well as President Barack Obamas stance and role in
its advancement.

"Roadmap to Victory | Freedom to Marry." Roadmap to Victory | Freedom to Marry. Freedom to Marry
Inc., 17 Apr. 2003. Web. 3 Oct. 2014.