Analyse the role of the Marriage Amendment Act 2002 (Commonwealth) in Essay

Analyse the role of the Marriage Amendment Act 2002 (Commonwealth) in attempting to adress the perceived social problems - Essay Example The marriage institution as a socially sanctioned union for procreation and child-rearing has been found in all societies, but in widely varying forms. Marriage is sometimes used to establish the legal father of a woman’s child and vice versa; gives the both partners control over the others sexual services, labor and property; establishes a joint fund of property for the benefit of children; establishes a relationship between the spouses. The most common type of marriage is treated as the union of one or more men with one or more women. Marriage is usually heterosexual and entails exclusive rights and duties of sexual performance. Prior to all the hoopla about marriage, the society has seemingly established certain norms and practices that govern the act of marriage. Laws are made to preserve marriage and the family as the basic unit of society. Such laws over the years have seen so many changes in order to adapt to the changing attitude in the society. Dissenting opinions hav e resulted to so many arguments that question the laws passed by each country and are equated as a restrictive measure in the marriage act to satirically portray a morally upright society. Yet in this current period of history when equal rights are commonly fought and granted by the governments, society has also substantially gained a relaxed observance towards the practices that prevailed 25 years ago in the marriage union. Times have changed and society has grown as a whole thereby certain laws are explored that allow equal treatment of rights and preferences as applied into the laws of marriage. However, religions have lobbied against a so-called break-up of the covenant that establishes an exclusive marital union in religion as recognized in modern society. Other celebrated unions that are beyond the religious were sometimes shunned in the last century. Our egalitarian government has given us given us the freedom to choose and practice of our own religion and allowed us to treat