Gay marriage is a Civil rights issue

Gay Marriage is a civil rights issue. My opponent's case does not directly address the resolution, so we are left in ambiguous confusion between several of his views. Does he think gay marriage is a religious issue? a moral issue? a biological issue? a civil rights issue? We'll have to find out in the next round. My case will link gay marriage through the property rights and equality, and thus qualify it as a civil rights issue. Civil rights: The rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality. [1] Civil rights have a legal as well as a philosophical basis. In the United States civil rights are usually thought of in terms of the specific rights guaranteed in the Constitution: freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press, and the rights to due process of law and to equal protection under the law. [2] Certain civil rights (such as the right to equality, freedom, good governance, justice, and due process of law) are inalienable like human rights and natural rights. [3] The Equal Protection Clause Every current amendment to the constitution was written to protect the civil rights of a group of people or all people (e.g. press, religious sects, free speech, racial minorities, etc.) Whereas states and laws regulate, the constitution deregulates, untangles, liberates, and protects the civil rights of its people. The US constitution states, “to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men” The Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, the government may not "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." State laws against gay marriage violate the spirit of this amendment by denying consenting gay people of legal standing the ability to marry, while allowing other people to marry. Furthermore, laws prohibiting gay marriage are written to "protect the sanctity of marriage." If the government striving to protect sanctity with legislation, then it is "[making] law respecting an establishment of religion," which is an activity expressly prohibited under the First Amendment to the US Constitution. By depriving a specific group of people (gay people) of the freedom to marry while allowing other groups to do so freely is a blatant violation of equal protection of the laws, and therefore, of civil rights. Full Faith and Credit Clause “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records, and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.” This clause exists so that the civil rights of a certain state’s people do not become invalidated when they enter into different states. This is a civil right that all citizens in the United States enjoy. However, one group’s rights have been infringed upon: when gay people marry in Massachusettes for example, and they move to Texas, their marriage is no longer considered valid. All the legal, financial, and societal benefits that flow from the governmental (civil) perspective of marriage cease to exist; thus, annulling the marital rights of that couple. This is another blatant violation of civil rights and stands in direct opposition to the spirit and letter of the US constitution. Separation between Church and State Our founding fathers knew of the horrors that could be unleashed upon civil rights when a government allies itself with religion, forming a theocracy. So they took measures to make sure this would not be a feature of their new republic. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” This is called the wall/separation between church and state. When a legislature enacts a law designed to protect sanctity of a marriage from a religious standpoint, they are conflicting with this Establishment Clause that was designed to respect the civil rights of its citizens by protecting against theocratic bullying. Property Rights Laws that prohibit the gay couples from using inheritance, hospital visitation, adoption, and other legal and financial and tax benefits of marriage are inherently discriminatory against the civil liberties and civil rights of its citizens through the property rights which we enjoy. Thanks [1] https://www.google.com... [2] http://www.infoplease.com... [3] http://www.businessdictionary.com...