Same-Sex Marriages Debate Grows

Just a year ago, Randy McCain and Gary Eddy celebrated their ten years of committment to each other. But the covenant vows they`ve taken, don`t matter much to the state of Arkansas. "My loving, committed, Christ-centered relationship of 12 years is not recognized by the state, but I can perfrom marriages that are recognized by the state," said Pastor Randy McCain. Recent legislative debates and marriages in San Francisco could be the start of something Gary Eddy never thought he`d see. "It`s exciting, it`s scary in a way, because who knows what direction people will take," Eddy said. But the debate is going in several directions right now. "A few states, Vermont and Massachusetts in particular, have interpreted their constitutions to say that it requires equality betwen people who want to get married, whether they`re gay or straight," said John DiPippa, associate dean, UALR School of Law. But existing federal law says other states don`t have to recognize those marriages. "If the Defense of Marriage Act allows states not to recognize gay marriages from other states, then it can be challenged as a violation of equal protection because it doesn`t provide equal full-faith and credit rights," DiPippa. Which is all Randy McCain and Gary Eddy say they want. "Gay and lesbian people are not asking for special rights, we`re asking for equal rights," McCain said. And in the middle of it all, there`s a question of whether or not the government should even be allowed to define marriage. "So on one side, you`ve got people saying really this is religious, let them deal with it, but you hve religions saying this is a social matter, it`s a public matter," DiPippa said. A matter that is slowly making its way to the Supreme Court to be decided once and for all. As some states try to make their own laws regarding gay marriage, the federal government is considering a gay marriage amendment blocking states from using their own constitutions to create marriage rights. In Arkansas, the state adopted the Anti-Marriage Bill in 1997 to deny same-sex marriges. No cities in the state offer benefits to domestic partners.