Same Sex Marriage Content Analysis Paper Essay Example for Free

Same Sex Marriage Content Analysis Paper Essay Homosexuality is a global topic of debate. The topic of homosexuality has been discussed constantly throughout various media outlets and is a hot topic in the republican primary. A number of debates have been argued in regard to the rights of homosexuals. One of the most hotly debated subjects is the rights of homosexual couples. This controversial topic has been widely debated for a number of years. However, the trend toward globally accepting same-sex marriage is on the rise. States such as Massachusetts have passed laws to make the union of same-sex marriages legal. Other states have taken initial steps toward accepting same-sex marriage. Whereas others are considering laws and constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage within state borders. Some opponents of same-sex marriage argue that these unions should be prohibited due to the fact spouses cannot produce children in the way God intended. Additionally, those who contest same-sex marriages believe legalization of these unions would cause irreparable harm to our society as we know it. Given the significance of the issue, the value of widespread debate of the reasons for and against legalizing same sex-marriage should be apparent. Aside from societal and religious conventions, marriage entails legally imposed responsibilities. This paper intends to look into the content involved in this hot topic to see how religious views, politically focused stances, political and legal pressures, as well as our current presidents flipped flopped stance on such a controversial subject and how they appear in the media. Historically, as a nation the concept of separate but equal doesn’t work. Offering same-sex couples several of the rights married couples are afforded without allowing them to be married is unjust. If same-sex couples are to have equal rights, civil unions are not enough. Same-sex couples deserve the same right to marry that heterosexual couples currently possess. Although, same-sex couples live in relationships that are based on the same core values that heterosexual couples commit to which is a strong and loving relationship. Same-sex couples are still denied the right to go into a marriage with their partner of choice; they continue to be denied the human rights, legal and economic stability provided by the recognized institution of marriage. See more: how to write an analysis paper on an article examples Marriage is a right that currently cannot be exercised by all due to an individual’s sexual preference. Same-sex couples are repetitively discriminated based on societies resistance to amend the definition of marriage past sexual preference. Based on the material that I have covered so far I expect to find more cases where same sex marriage is still a hot topic where people will still be fighting for their rights. In the political arena, especially with the fight for republican nominee in the upcoming election, I hope to see politicians fighting for same sex marriage but I feel as if some will say its not right and bring in the hot topic of religion into the equation. Some of the media outlets that I have chosen to investigate the subject of same sex marriages come from online news sources Huffington post, CNN, and New York Times. I chose these because I felt that it would give me a wide range of viewpoints and opinions based on different reporters. Most of the articles come from February 2012 to the present. In some of the articles it occasionally referenced to previous cases all the way back to 2008 with proposition 8 in California. To help organize my research, it helped to divide the information up into a series of categories that I later broke down even further by the content and tones expressed and by paragraph. The four categories that I was able to narrow it down to were: 1. Religious views and stand points based on different religions a. Example: Catholics, Mormons, Christians 2. Politically focused standpoints / Directed towards the Republican primary b. Example: What different politicians are saying such as how Rick Santorum said â€Å"It would ‘Invalidate’ marriages† 3. Obama’s views and things he has done to defend / support his stance c. Example: Laws and proposals put into act or being worked on and previous laws like Proposal 8 in California 4. Political and legal pressures from citizens if favor of same sex marriages d. What citizens feel on the subject around the country and why some are opposing it rather than accepting the idea and the ideas that come with it The rules that I used to help choose what category the content and tones the articles I read fell under were fairly simple. Something such â€Å"Surprisingly speeches were encouraging to organizers of the movement† would be marked as something positive. A paragraph with something like â€Å"Activists were under attack in Washington† would be noted as a negative. A main goal through out this process was to make sure I remained constant. This provided for the most and accurate results throughout the content analysis process. CHART INSERT HERE The first category, Religious Views, almost everything I read was written in a neutral context by the author and took up 14.192% of the content in my categories that I was looking into. When it came down to what was being covered I found that most organizations to either be positive or very negative. The only neutral stance I found was the Mormons. Catholics and Republicans seemed to be very against the idea saying that it would infringe on people rights and is against the constitution. Almost all of that articles that I read towards faith based organizations at first preached against same sex marriage left and right with negative tones. The Catholic and some Christian religions refuse to defend the rights of those who love differently than what their beliefs suggest. In an article from the Huffington Post Greene suggests, â€Å"The need to discredit or destroy a taboo object of desire is enacted in the violent attack on gay men and women and transgender persons.† The argument against same sex marriage has just as much to do about â€Å"disgust† as it does religious affiliation. The idea that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman is a core religious belief for a significant number of Americans and could be picked up in a suttle undertone in some of the articles. Consequently, many religious leaders argue that marriage, as a social institution must remain in the intended concept of that between a man and a woman, for the means of bearing and raising children. Sider (2010) contends, â€Å"Legalizing gay marriage would weaken the connection between marriage and procreation.† Within today’s scientific arena, Sider and other religious figures views are constantly challenged. Women no longer need a male figure in their lives in order to bear children. Conversely, homosexual couples can have children without either party having to bear them. Moreover, Sider contends that the issue of same-sex-marriage has become a legal concern for religious institutions. Citing two cases Sweden and Canada in which pastors have been charged with hate crimes; Sider (2010) anticipates legal action imminent against clergy here in the United States. Ryan (2009) argues that traditional families hardly exist today. The role of women is no longer that of a servant, but one in which has equal say or are head of household. Thus, the argument that marriage is a religious institution is a flawed concept. Mainly, due to the fact in American culture â€Å"traditional marriage’ had been based on ownership within your religion. Due to the discrepancies between the definitions of â€Å"marriage† the legal and political argument of discrimination has been proposed by same sex-couples. My second category focused in on politically focused standpoint. This category took up 26.315% of my findings but I feel as if this percentage was so high because of the Republican primaries that are currently taking place. Normally I thought that this number would be slightly lower. Oppressive and discriminatory experiences have been a part of cultural history. In order to move beyond the mere categorization of groups as independent entities, this learner believes that we must encourage other to explore similarities, differences and controversies among and between diverse populations. As counselors, we must be expected to address these issues in several contexts; personal values, professional policy and practice. Conservative faith traditions have definitely had an impact on the social institution of marriage. This learner has observed throughout this course that as a counselor one must develop multicultural competencies. The third category covered in my analysis focused in on President Obama and his stance on same sex marriages. This category took up 27.192% of the content based on the categories I was looking into. I found that Barack Obama, the President of the United States, has recently decided to no longer defend the DOMA. In The Christian Century (2011), the president is stated to have said that DOMA is â€Å"unconstitutional when applied to same-sex couples married legally under state law† in a letter to Congress. The Christian Century (2011) also states that Congress has also repealed the â€Å"military’s ban on openly gay members†, and the Supreme Court has â€Å"declared that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct are unconstitutional†. Same-sex marriages are on the way into the law. What hurt can it really do? Denying same-sex couples to marry is denying those couples religious freedom. It is stated in the First Amendment of the Constitution that a person’s religious views or lack thereof must be protected. Marriage is a religious act as well as a legal act. In the same sense that a Christian marriage, or rather an opposite-sex marriage, is respected by law after taking place in a church, a same-sex marriage should be equally accepted and respected by those same laws. Just because Christians, and other religions groups, may be against homosexuality does not mean the government needs to adopt those views as well. The final category was based on political and legal pressures that are being felt by citizens and government officials. This wasn’t surprising to me that this category took up the highest percentage at 31.518%. When couples get married they are showing society of their romantic and legal commitment to one another. Why should this right be any different for same-sex couples? Heterosexual couples often take for granted basic rights that are denied same-sex couples such as, the ability to make medical decisions for their spouse. Basic right such as that, are not afforded to same-sex couples. Hence, the legal battle to redefine marriage to include same-sex unions has continued to gain momentum. After going through all of the articles the results and breakdown of what I found were fairly accurate to what I had expected to see percentage wise. The amount of positive, neutral, and negative statements and views wasn’t. It seemed that some writers wanted to speak out negatively about the subject but for the newspapers sake wouldn’t directly say anything negative.

Concert Report Essay -- essays research papers

On June seventh at eight o’clock pm I attended a concert at Beneroya Hall. The concert was part of the Masterpiece series, performed by the Seattle Symphony and conducted by Hermann Michael; also including a special performance by the pianist Hà ©là ¨ne Grimaud. The performance included four pieces, two by Ludwig Van Beethoven, one by Maurice Ravel, and the last was by Richard Strauss. The two pieces by Beethoven were; Overture to The Construction of The House, and piano Concerto No. 4 in g major, Op. 58. The piece by Ravel was Pavane for a Dead Princess. Finally the last by Strauss was Death and Transfiguration. I truly enjoy going to the symphony, the music is quite a bit better than on any type of recording I have ever heard. The segment that I enjoyed the most was the Piano Concerto, beca...

Early Intervention for Special Needs Children Essay

The development and implementation of early intervention activities for young children who have a delay or who are at risk for future delays are relatively recent phenomena in the United States. Early intervention as an applied and academic field has developed primarily within the specialty area of early childhood special education (ECSE), a field comprised of professionals from many disciplines. The genesis of ECSE in the United States may be traced to the formation, in 1968, of the Handicapped Children’s Early Education Program (HCEEP) branch within the United States Department of Education. Although other work had occurred in early intervention prior to this time, the establishment of HCEEP provided national recognition and federal funds to address early intervention issues. Since 1968, rapid changes have occurred in the field of early intervention. The most significant event impacting on early intervention was the passage of Public Law 99-457 (P. L. hereafter) in 1986. This law mandates education for handicapped children aged three to five years and provides both impetus and funding for early intervention for children younger than age three. From the viewpoint of an outside observer, the passage of only eighteen years from the establishment of a specialty area to that specialty area demonstrating efficacy such that its tenets become law is admirable. However, these tenets, and the practices derived from them, are based on research that has recently received negative reviews. It is clear that ECSE has done well, but many challenges remain to be met. Failure to conquer these challenges could result in a loss of valuable ground that many have worked hard to achieve. Early Evidence for Early Intervention As the fields of special education and early childhood education evolved, evidence were accumulating that early intervention could be effective. In a classic study, Skeels (1966) examined the effects of environmental stimulation on two comparable groups of infants. Mentally retarded females acted as surrogate mothers for one group (n = 13), providing these children with attention and stimulation. Twelve infants with average IQs remained in a nonstimulating orphanage environment. Eighteen months later, the stimulated infants gained an average 27. 5 IQ points while the control group dropped 26. 2 points. Twenty-one years later, Skeels (1966) continued to find differences between those who were placed in the enriched environment and those who were not. Of those in the experimental group, all were found to be self-supporting as adults. Four of these adults had completed college and, as a group, had a median high-school education. Of those in the control group, four adults had been institutionalized. The median education for these adults was at the third-grade level. Additional evidence came from the work of Kirk (1965), who studied handicapped preschoolers. He compared institutionalized mentally handicapped preschoolers who received a preschool program with a comparable group who remained on the wards and received no intervention services. Children in the experimental program showed significant gains on intellectual measures. Six of the fifteen-experimental group children were able to leave the institution by age eight, while none of the children in the control group left the institution. Works researched provided additional evidence for the value of early intervention. Based upon these studies, the consensus emerged that children’s cognitive skills develop early in life and very rapidly, and that early enrichment can have profound influences on a child’s future functioning. Although this consensus is no longer accepted without question, this philosophy, nevertheless, played a major role in the acceptance of early intervention and helped to create a social climate for legislation favoring handicapped children. Legislative Activities Both research and societal factors converged to provide momentum for the early intervention movement in the 1960s. The changing social climate in the United States in the 1960s led to the passage of favorable legislation for several groups. Litigative and legislative activities occurred in the areas of civil rights, rights for the disadvantaged, and rights for the handicapped. A breakthrough for early intervention, focusing on disadvantaged children, was the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Part of this act was directed at the establishment of Project Head Start. This program was designed to provide early intervention for disadvantaged preschool children in the research found that these IQ gains disappeared after the children entered school. Based on societal and political pressures, Head Start continued despite the negative research findings. Arguments by researchers who questioned the findings and suggested that unmeasurable gains were being made bolstered the pro-Head Start forces. The results of a nineteen-year longitudinal study on children who participated in Head Start (the Perry Pre-school Project) found a number of positive results. These benefits included: (a) less need for special education, (b) more positive school attitudes, (c) less arrests, (d) less teen pregnancy, and (e) better employment histories. Other research has supported these findings. As an early intervention program, Head Start is the most well-known in the United States and has served over eight million preschoolers. Additionally, Head Start has had a major impact on early intervention for children with handicaps. The Economic Opportunity Acts Amendments of 1972 mandated that at least 10% of the total population served by Head Start be children with handicaps, giving Head Start the status of the first mandated, mainstreamed early intervention program in the United States. This occurred well before the concept of mainstreaming became popular in special education. One of the most important pieces of legislation regarding young children with handicaps was the Handicapped Children’s Early Education Assistance Act of 1968. This act established the Handicapped Children’s Early Education Program of the Department of Education, which has been responsible for funding the majority of innovative service projects in early intervention that occurred in the United States. This legislation may be viewed as the formal beginning of the field of early intervention for the handicapped. HCEEP programs will be discussed more fully later in this chapter in the section on current practices. The next major legislation to affect early intervention activities was an act that impacted significantly on educational practices for all handicapped children–the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (P. L. 94-142). P. L. 94-142 provided for a free, appropriate public education with related services to all children with handicaps between the ages of three and twenty-one years. This act has been called the â€Å"Bill of Rights† for children with handicaps. The overall impact of this act on educational practice has been discussed in other places. While this act documented acceptance of the need for early intervention by the federal government, it also provided individual states with the option not to serve these young children. Unfortunately, this was an option many states adopted. In 1985, only twenty-four of the fifty states had mandated services for handicapped children under age five and only eight states had mandated services for handicapped children under age three. Although P. L. 94-142 had a major impact on such intervention, supporters of early intervention were aware of the implementation problems involved in serving young children. As a result of successes with preschool early intervention, the need for services for even younger children was being heralded. Congress responded to these calls for early intervention in 1983 by passing the Amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act (P. L. 98-199). These amendments provided financial incentives for states to extend early intervention service levels down to birth. Unfortunately, funding remained dependent upon the number of children served between the ages of three and five, and the act, in effect, diluted the funding available for the three- to five-year-old children. Also, incentives built into these amendments to encourage individual state participation were weak and ineffectual. Lobbying groups for early intervention continued their activities to push through a law mandating early intervention for all young children with handicaps. In 1986, Congress responded by passing P. L. 99-457, (Amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act). P. L. 99-457 mandated that all preschool-aged children with handicaps receive a free and appropriate education by 1991. This law provided penalties for states that did not conform to the law. In addition, P. L. 99-457 created a new state grant program for infants and toddlers with handicaps. The passage of P. L. 99-457 has signaled a new era for early intervention. The federal government has recognized the need for early intervention (at least at the preschool level) and has provided funds to support it. P. L. 99-457 is also significant in other ways. Children need not be classified into narrowly defined categories to receive services. The importance of the family in development has been heavily emphasized, especially for those children under age three years. For infants and toddlers, the definition of what constitutes intervention services has been broadened. For all children, a wide variety of possible intervention options has been acknowledged. It is clear that the passage of P. L. 99-457 is not the final stop for advocates of early intervention. Concerns regarding how states will implement preschool services and how service policies will be defined remain. Questions regarding services for infants and toddlers are just beginning to be addressed. Many problems still exist, but Public Law 99-457 represents a major accomplishment for advocates of early intervention and a benefit for the children and families who will receive services. Problems in the Present Currently, early intervention activities regarding the development of and research on â€Å"best practices† are occurring. However, there is a growing tendency to question some of what has been accomplished by early intervention. Questions have arisen concerning the research on which early intervention activities are based and on the data from which costs have been obtained. These particular areas–research and costs–have traditionally provided a foundation for early intervention. This report briefly reviews concerns regarding knowledge of costs and the research base of early intervention. Early Intervention Research In a â€Å"review of reviews,† White, Bush, and Casto (1985-86) found overwhelming agreement that early intervention is effective (94% of fifty-two studies). Unfortunately, they also found that a number of these reviews based this assertion primarily or solely on studies done with disadvantaged children. The benefits of early intervention for disadvantaged children are not a major issue of contention. Controversy ensues when these findings are over generalized to children with handicaps. A number of well-conducted reviews of early intervention for handicapped children has been completed. These reviews have been cautious with their conclusions, but overall the findings have been quite negative, particularly regarding the validity of the studies. Dunst, Snyder, and Mankinen (1987) found that 71% of the forty-nine studies they reviewed used methods that made the results scientifically uninterpretable. Other researchers essentially agreed with the Dunst, Snyder, and Mankinen findings. They then attempted to argue that the lack of effectiveness found for early intervention programs was a result of the nature of studies in early intervention. Researchers used meta-analytic techniques to examine a number of common assumptions made regarding early intervention programs and found little empirical support for those assumptions. An extremely comprehensive review by Dunst, Snyder, and Mankinen ( 1987), which examined 105 studies by degree of causality and by type of child served, was no more positive for the early intervention movement. These authors stated that any conclusions regarding the efficacy of early intervention must be considered tentative and conditional. They noted that â€Å"there is insufficient evidence at this time to conclude that there are cause-effect relationships between the interventions and outcomes observed†. Dunst and associates further stated, in agreement with Casto and Mastropieri (1986), that children in early intervention programs do make positive developmental and behavioral changes across time but that â€Å"the extent to which the interventions are responsible for observed effects is difficult to ascertain† (p. 285 ). Some researchers have been critical of reviews of early intervention because they tend to exclude single-subject methodology research. Many of the problems in reviewing this literature base are related to the subjective nature of comparing this research, as no standard metric is employed across studies. Reviews of the single-subject literature in early intervention have been conducted and are favorable but have not significantly refuted other reviews. Single-subject studies do show strong evidence for a functional relationship between dependent and independent variables. These single-subject studies usually focus on a narrow, well-defined objective. Although this is useful for demonstrating functional relationships, it represents only parts of the whole of an early intervention program. Also, these studies are usually conducted under rigorous investigative control, a feature not available in most early intervention programs. Successful programs frequently have problems when disseminated for use by a wider audience. Also, many single-subject studies do not sufficiently address generalization and maintenance issues. Researchers provide suggestions for single-subject research in early intervention, many of which are identical to those that need to be addressed by group research.

Argument Paper On Gun Control - 1354 Words

Position Paper on Gun Control While Americans were contemplating gun control proposals in the wake of mass shootings at a Colorado School, another gunman massacred 50 people in a club in Orlando. This incident brought heated political exchanges between President Obama and Trump, the Republican presidential candidate. It is estimated that in 2015 alone, there were more than 351 mass shootings in the United States. This is a worrying trend that should be reversed as soon as possible. Surprisingly, the trend has divided Americans into two groups. On one extreme end, there are those Americans who believe that the government should enforce gun control. On the other end, some Americans insist that stricter gun controls will not help in the fight against killings. In this light, this paper will try to provide a detailed analysis of the gun control debate while highlighting the various points made by the proponents and opponents of the gun control. The essay posits that gun control is counterproductive. The debate on gun control revolves around how the laws to be implemented will affect the acquisition of guns by the criminals as well as law-abiding citizens. Gun control proponents are of the opinion that in the absence of gun control laws, criminals will acquire guns too easily. In the same vein, if all citizens are armed, criminals will have a greater incentive to acquire guns. Hence, there will be too many guns in circulation and crime cases will increase. Contrastingly, gunShow MoreRelatedGun Control Argument paper1449 Words   |  6 Pagesthe saying, â€Å"Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,† then on December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the small town of Newtown, Connecticut. Ever since this tragic day, there has been a large push for gun control in the US, led by President Obama. The bills that are before Congress would make penalties for buying guns illegally more oner ous, address trafficking, and greatly expand the number of gun sales coveredRead MoreThe Argument Against Gun Control Essay1141 Words   |  5 PagesIn this paper, I consider the topic of gun control. First, I present Dixon’s argument in support of gun control, which is that all personal guns should be banned. Second, I introduce Huemer’s argument against the regulation of guns, which is that banning personal firearms is not justified. Third, I critique Huemer’s argument against gun control on the grounds of three claims. First, the right to own a gun is nullified by its negative repercussions. Second, gun control does not violate an individual’sRead MoreGun Control795 Words   |  4 Pages# 1 Gun Control According to the Coalition for Gun Control, last year a total of 291 people were killed by handguns in Australia, Sweden, Great Britain, Japan, and Switzerland. 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