Universidad San Francisco of Quito.

Composition and rhetoric.

Prof. Matthew Dolloff

September 21st, 2019

Martínez David

The Color of the Equality

Civil marriage is defined like a legal contract that people use to obtain certain

rights in society. In Ecuador, people of the same sex are able to get married since 2019,

June. I agree with this decision and make this research to support my argument because

this decision implies equality in aspects like laws, society and human condition too.

Every person should be equal in front of society. Legal equality means, people have the

same rights, no matter their gender, age or sexual orientation. Similarly with humans

rights, individuals should be free to choose their own way to achieve happiness, and they

should be respected about this. Finally, civil marriage is a legal contract and not a

religious topic.

Legal equality means that people have the same rights and law should be the same

for all. For the West´s Encyclopedia of American Law (2018) right is “an entitlement to

something, whether to concepts like justice and due process, […] These rights include

various freedoms, protection against interference with enjoyment of life and property,

civil rights enjoyed by citizens such as voting and access to the courts, natural rights

accepted by civilized societies”. Same sex couples can share their lives, but in the case

that of one of them dies, without civil marriage, the other can’t to take control of

possessions and patrimony that they acquired together, therefore the implementation of a

law was necessary. Historically, marriage was defended like the union of a man and

women, but the context depends on the culture that it applies. In the case of same sex civil
marriage in Ecuador they are not changing the definition, they just applied the general

context or definition of “marriage” in law to protect the integrity of a couple in the society.

So the current controversy of this topic is Ecuador cultures.

Human rights, like the law equality, should be applied to all people. As stipulated

in article 16 of human rights “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to

race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are

entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution”. Society and

humans are evolving every day, probably not in a physical form, but their thoughts are

changing. Ecuador is a country that keeps and protect traditions, but that doesn’t mean

that such traditions they can take away and individual rights. Aristotle said: “It is the mark

of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it”. So, the

establishment of this right in Ecuador just responses to the necessity of respect the life of

other people. That decision means an advance like a civilized society.

Religion has a problem with this kind of marriage, because they argue the purpose

of marriage it’s the procreation, but this is not a religious theme it’s about the society.

How Sawe, B explains “A secular state is a country where the state is keep separate from

religion, and the state does not discriminate or favor persons based on their religious

beliefs”. Ecuador is handled in this kind of system, but the most population believes in a

religion, therefore the church’s opinion has a certain type of influence in people. Same

sex marriage, probably doesn’t response to the idea of procreation, but sterile couples

neither. This is not an issue of beliefs it’s about people’s well-being. Like a secular

country, Ecuador shouldn’t allow right to be violated based in beliefs.

Probably Ecuador took the decision quickly but human rights shouldn’t be

consulted. Same sex marriage is a human right, and provides the legal equality like a

couple in a society, probably the term must be worked, because is so associated with
religious, but religion doesn’t have opinion in human rights. Rights are inherent in every

human and therefore they being must be respected. Same sex marriage in Ecuador is an

opportunity to developed us and evolve like a society. The perfect opportunity to

recognize that people have same right in laws, life and love.
Bibliography

[1] West's Encyclopedia of American Law (n.d) right. edition 2. (2008). Retrieved

September 21 2019 from https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/right

[2] United Nations (n.d) Universal declaration of human rights. Retrieved September

21, 2019 from: https://www.un.org/es/universal-declaration-human-

rights/index.html

[3] Sawe, B(2018) What is a secular state? Retrieved September 21,2019 from:

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-a-secular-state.html