The constitution and federalism essay sample

Same sex marriage is one of the controversial issues in the country. Some states support the practice and have gone ahead to state that the constitution provides for it under the Bill of Rights while others are against it and have moved the courts to declare that the practice is unconstitutional. A decision has not been made, and different people take different stands (Gerstmann).
Should the Supreme Court come to finding that same-sex marriage is protected by the constitution, those against it would be outraged as they believe in traditional values that did not recognize such marriages. They also are staunch Christians, Muslims or Jews who believe that there is a reason God created man and woman (Gerstmann).
They would try to amend the constitution, so that same sex marriage is made unconstitutional. This can be done by persuading people to go to the ballot and vote for it. If the majority vote for the amendment, the conservatives will have a remedy. They may also sue for an order to reverse the decision of the Supreme Court.
Marriage rights should be of public concern. If left as an entirely private matter, many people are bound to suffer as the state will not have the right to interfere. People without the capacity to get married would do so, and domestic violence would be rampant.
Making marriage the concern of the public ensures that couples that want to be married have the capacity to do so. The state, through enactment of various laws, ensures that the parties to a marriage are protected and that these marriages do not fall apart without the parties trying to make it work(Gerstmann).

Federalism

What happened in the 1920’s, an era where the drinking of alcohol was completely prohibited, can rightly be compared with the state of teenagers today where regulations have been enacted stipulating the minimum drinking age to be twenty one.
Most people, be it adults or teenagers, do not like to be told what to do and what not to do. There is always an attraction to do that which is forbidden. This is what happened in the 1920’s. The people dared to drink alcohol although it was illegal to do so.
The same is happening today as the law requires those teenagers aged below twenty one to abstain from drinking alcohol. This provision only makes them indulge in under-age drinking to see what the consequences of doing so are.
Promotion of alcohol education programmes which encourage teenagers to take alcohol in moderation as compared to the education that tells them to abstain from drinking alcohol altogether are more effective. Responsible use of alcoholic drinks has better impact on the teenagers.
This statement raises a very important issue of what the minimum drinking age should be. The question posed is why the country can enlist teenagers of eighteen years of age to the military while these same teenagers are not allowed to drink.
Teenagers who have attained eighteen years of age should be allowed to drink alcohol if they are old enough to join the military and fight for the country. War is much more dangerous than the drinking of alcohol, and it is ironic why teenagers below the age of twenty one are prohibited from drinking yet they are allowed to go on a dangerous mission for the country.

Works Cited

Gerstmann, Evan. Same-sex Marriage and the Constitution. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.