topic same sex marriage legalization in vietnam

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM Topic: Same-sex marriage legalization in Vietnam Instructor: Dr.. While there are more than 80 countries and terr

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

Topic: Same-sex marriage legalization in Vietnam

Instructor: Dr Nguyen Bich Ngoc

Subject: Introductory Ethics

Group: 5

Class: Advanced Finance 59B

GROUP MEMBERS

Name

Nguyen Tram Anh

Phan Van Anh

Vu Trinh Minh Chau

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION (000i e d 3

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Same-sex marriage is defined as the marnage between man and man, or woman and woman Legal recognition is important for couples as a base of marriage sustainability and for the nights of tax, property inheritance or medical benefits While there are more than 80 countries and territories still considering homosexual behavior as crime, same-sex marriage has been legalized in 27 countries Same-sex marriages can now take place in Viet Nam, though the government does not recognize them or provide legal protections in cases of disputes

Consequentialism supports the topic because it is beneficial to both physical and mental well-being of homosexuals and promotes people to live in their true identity

In the view of Deontology, same sex marriage is analyzed with four criteria: universe, self, means and long-term societal impact Though not the global will, gradually with the progress of society cognition, nations around the world could willingly abolish this prejudice Were straight people as the major population born as homosexual, they also fight for legalization of same sex marriage Contrast to common opposite thoughts which states that children raised by same sex couples could be the means to an end, they could still nurture them with care and love This also creates a more diverse community and raises an untainted generation without the thought of stigmatizing LGBT From Virtue Theory, the personality of homosexual people is of no difference to heterosexuals so they need love and marriage as a human right The legal support even helps LGBT people to

be more courageous and contributive to community

Our team wholly agrees that same sex marriage should be recognized legitimately

in Vietnam due to (1) the benefits brought to same sex couples and the society; and (2) rebuttals to three common arguments

Legalization of same sex marriage would ensure the same privilege and benefits for gay/lesbian couples as heterosexual ones The society can also eliminate conflicting

views against a group of minor people and convey a message of equal treatment and respect for every citizen, which contribute to building an inclusive community

Although going against Vietnamese customs, the adverse attitude against same sex matriage 1s one example of conventional perceptions that would be soon reformed along with the development of society Against the fear that the purpose of marriage as reproducing is undermined, thus reducing the world’s population count, the number of homosexuals is very small and not affecting the reproduction of opposite sex couples Also, giving a birth to babies is not the only purpose of marriage, otherwise, infertile or old people also need to be banned Lastly, contrary to common belief children raised by gay/lesbian couples cannot grow up in optimum conditions, recent research has shown that can also offer just as good parenting as traditional couples

From the perspective of ethics schools of thought and from our own opinion, same sex marriage should be legalized in Vietnam

It cannot be denied that the influence of homosexuals in particular and LGBT community

in general is growing considerably, changing the perception of not only the Vietnamese but also the worldwide citizens of this minor gender group Nonetheless, traditional norms and disapprovers’ perspective attempt to hold same sex marnage illegitimate Analyzing this issue will provide the right understanding and help enacting the right direction to our country

In order to interpret homosexual matrimony, our group decide to utilize three forms of ethical theory: Consequentialism, Deontology and Virtue Ethics Each theory equips the audience with its own ideology, leading to the different application of the case

of same sex marriage From this framework, we draw a conclusion whether or not Vietnam should legalize marriage between persons from the same gender

L Same-sex marriage overview

1 Definition

LI What is marriage?

According to Oxford Dictionary, marriage 1s “the legally or formally recognized union of two people as partners in a personal relationship (historically and in some jurisdictions specifically a union between a man and a woman)” They will be allowed to live together, have children and also need establishing mghts and obligations between them Marriage is considered as a legal combination of each individual emotionally, socially or legally Most marriages are the result of love Socially, weddings are often the event that marks the beginning of marriage Legally, it is the registration of marnage with state agencies

Legal marriage is generally a combination of a man called husband and a woman called wife This is the most basic form of marriage which is legally accepted in every country over the world There are many types such as temporary marriage, polygamy and same sex marriage which have not been well recognized by the community because many people state that such mutant marriage can do harm to social morality and culture Only few countries approve this marriage, especially homosexual marriage and also legalize this kind of marriage

1.2 What is same-sex marriage?

American Psychological Association (2016) defines “Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender in certain circumstances or in the long term” As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and sexual attractions to people who have the same gender Homosexuals, as well as normal people have a similarity in physical and mental health Only just sexual orientation they differ with normal people

Same-sex marriage (also known as gay marriage) is the marnage between man and man, or woman and woman Although the marrage of two people with different gender

is legally recognized around the world, same sex marriage is still considered to be a controversial issue There are records of same-sex marriage dating back to the first century in Roma but it was not accepted The marriage was inhibited in the Roma Empire

in the fourth In the modem era, same-sex marriage started being legalized at the beginning of the 21st century but the issue of same-sex marnage frequently sparked emotional and political clashes between supporters and opponents For people who agree homosexual marnage, they state that same sex marriage help ensure human rights, equality between sexual people and reduce discrimination in society In contrast, for people who disapprove of this kind of marriage, they think that same sex family leads to numerous problems: children who are raised by homosexual couples will be vulnerable to psychological trauma and behavior deviation because they are lack of a father or a mother Since same sex marnage tends to cause burden to divorce system, affect adoptions process and more importantly, it is unable to maintain the lineage, opponents think that it is unacceptable to legalize same sex marriage

1.3 Why being legally recognized marriage is important?

It cannot be denied that having a recognized legal marriage is a necessary thing to each person over the world Without the official acceptance, you cannot legally get married, and you union will not be sanctioned by the government It is not easy like obtaining the driving license to be able to drive your car in the road or filing a tax return Each culture has its own ritual to recognize a legal marriage Nowadays, the recognition

of legal marriage actually provides tremendous benefits:

* Legal marriage protects your nghts: There are many rights and obligations to husband and wife after the marriage registration Therefore, it will cause a difficulty for people who live together without getting married if they want to divide the common and

private property and rights Depending on each country, legal marriage acquires lots of rights:

- Tax Benefits: you can share tax laws basing on your income among family members with the IRS and state taxing authority

- Government Benefits:

“* Receive public assistance benefits

“+ Receiving Social Security, Medicare, and incapacity advantages for spouses

- Property inheritance benefits:

** Inherit each other's properties according to the provisions of the mheritance law

“+ When a spouse dies or is declared dead by the Court, the surviving party shall manage the common property of the spouses

- Medical Benefits: Making medical decisions if your husband/ wife in disability

- Family Benefit: parenting together or adopting child

- Consumer Benefit: paying the family price for some service, types of insurance, discount in tuition and permission to use school facilities

- Receive passports and legally settled mghts in other countries if your husband/ wife is foreigners

* Legal marriage is the base of a sustainable marriage: Because legal marriage requires a lot of documents, people will considerate carefully before getting married Should the married couple has dispute and intends to divorce, there will be subsequent interventions from local authority In addition to complex divorce procedure related to common property and custody of children, a marriage relationship is less likely to end than one without commitment That is one of the motivations for the wife and husband to, together, go through all difficulties and challenges

These are some benefits that you can earn from the legally recognized marriage Thanks to this legalization, people not only achieve a life as others but also receive fair treatment of society Therefore, being recognizes as a legal marriage plays an important role in people lives, especially in people with the same gender The recognition of same- sex marriage is extremely necessary for LGBT community It help them access to public services, legal protections and integration into the community as equal as the opposite sex couples They will lose many benefits that they should have had if their countries had not legalized same sex marriage

2 The status of same-sex marriage around the world

Same-sex marriage has been legalized in 27 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay, United States It includes the United States, and civil unions are recognized in many Western democracies

On the other hand, there are more than 80 countries territories considered homosexual behavior as crime and have laws punishing this behavior According to the annual report

of the Association of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and bisexual (ILGA), there are now eight countries possessing the highest penalty is the death penalty for homosexual (beside dozens of other nations is imprisoned or the beating.)

3 The current issues of same-sex marriage in Vietnam

Vietnam became the leading country in Southeast Asia by abolishing a ban on same- sex mamiage in 2015 The revised law, while not officially recognizing same-sex marriage, places the communist country at the forefront of countries in Asia becoming more accepting of same gender people

However, the 2014 Law still stipulates "no recognition of marriage between people of the same sex" (Clause 2, Article 8) Same-sex marriages can now take place in Viet Nam,

though the government does not recognize them or provide legal protections in cases of disputes The government abolished fines that were imposed on homosexual wedding in

2013

Vietnamese awareness about gay marriage has recently changed in Viet Nam society and the existence of them is now readily admitted According to the results of the national survey on "social perspective with the same-sex marriage announced on 26/3/2014 shown that:

- 33.7% of respondents in favor of legalized same-sex marnage About the recognition of the night to live together as husband and wife between those of the same sex, the number of supporters is 41.2%

- Most people believe that legalizing same-sex marriage does not affect the family (72.7%) or their personal (63.2%) In terms of regions, the northern and central in Viet Nam support more active (78% and 74%) than in the South Vietnam (68%)

The statistic above indicates that the number of supporters (approximately a half)

is still less than the number of opponents about same sex marriage It can be seen that cultural elements, the influence of traditional ideas have quite influenced perceptions about homosexuality and same-sex marriage in Vietnam today

Unlike many countries in the world, same sex relations in Vietnam are not criminalized Question always being raised when considering the same sex marriage topic are whether these love can lead to moral degradation, change traditional standards or not? Will same sex marriage go against the value of life in Vietnam? Until the present, all these questions still appear regularly at the forum, workshop but there has no final answer yet Therefore, in order to accept homosexual marriage, Vietnamese people need to should change stereo types and stigma instead of changing living standards and traditional values

In conclusion, same sex marriage has still been a controversial issue in Vietnam for many years Although the law of prohibiting marriage between homosexual people has been passed in Vietnam, many couples in LGBT community still face a lot of trouble and suffer from discrimination But at least, now, they have had a lot more freedom with their gender orientation, as well as the belief in justice to continue unfinished war Lots of groups on Facebook have been existed that help people freely show their opinions about homosexual wedding such as: “H6i tng hé hén nhan dong tinh tai Viét Nam” (Supporters

of Vietnamese same sex marriage), “Chúng tôi ủng hộ tinh yéu déng tinh (We support same sex love)”, “Hội đứng lên ủng hộ hôn nhân đồng giới Việt” (Standing up for same sex marrlage 1m Vietnam) These kmds of groups are such a wonderful place for homosexuals because all these associations not only help them find empathy and support but they also provide a great deal of insight into same gender people for every Vietnamese person

IL Theories review

1 Consequentialism

Consequentialism is known to be among one of the most influential moral theories It

is a class of normative ethical theories holding the belief that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the nghtness or wrongness of that conduct Consequentialists think highly of the result of an action rather than the action itself, meaning that a morally right act is one that will produce a good outcome, or consequence Consequentialism provides us the guidance when we experience a moral dilemma, in the case of hesitation, a person must choose the action which maximizes the good results Therefore, the action with maximized happiness should be the best choice in the life Consequentialism is contrasted with Deontology, a theory believes that the morality of an action should depends on whether the action is right or wrong itself rather than on the consequence of the action It is also distinct from Virtue ethics, which focuses

on the character of the agent rather than on the nature or consequences of the act itself There are a lot of mixed opinions about Consequentialism and this ethical theory has

come in for a lot of criticisms because it is difficult, sometimes even impossible to know what the result of the action ahead of time and if the result is eventually right or wrong There are two main types of Consequentialism: Utilitarianism and Egoism

- Egoism follows the core idea that an action is considered to be right if it maximizes happiness and minimizes pain for the “self” It may license actions that is beneficial and good for the “self” even if it is detrimental to others In Egoism, right versus wrong is defined based on the consequences to self There are three main types of Egoism: Psychological Egoism, Ethical Egoism and Altruism

- Utilitarianism share the same idea as other forms of Consequentialism, that the rightness and the wrongness of an action depends on the effects it produces However, Utilitarianism is based on the principle that an action is morally right if it produces a greater quantity of good or happiness than any other possible action and the action needs

to produce greatest good for greatest amount of people, not just for self-interest like Egoism Utilitarianism believes that actions that are considered to be morally right need

to make life become better by maximizing the number of good things (such as happiness, goodness and pleasure, etc) and minimizing the number of bad things (such as pain, sadness, crime, etc) There is only one rule to this theory: “Do what produces the best consequences” so it doesn’t follow any moral systems or codes of conduct that are comprised of commands based on traditions, customs, cultures or orders given by leaders

or supernatural forces There are two forms of Utilitarianism: act-utilitaranism and rule- utilitarianism Act-utilitarianism says that a person's act is morally right if and only if it produces the best possible results in that specific situation Rule-utilitarianism states that

an action is right as it conforms to a rule that leads to the greatest good, or that "the rightness or wrongness of a particular action is a function of the correctness of the rule of which it is an instance”

2 Deontology

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The word “deon” itself means duty in Greek language Generally speaking, in deontology, morality is based on what one's duty is and doing one's duty To be more details, deontology, as known as non-consequentialist theory, is the moral theory saying that an action's right has no dependence on its consequences It utterly relies on the nature

of the action, the only concern that matters Therefore, although bad ends or less good results may be produced from the act, non-consequentialist may still accept them as long

as the kind of the action is considerably right

The most controlling deontological theory was derived from the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, which is widely known by the name categorical imperative Act only on maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law, stated by Kant himself Kant's theory rests on a couple of major claims: the sole source of moral goodness is the will; and a good will is one which acts from universalizable reasons Another well-acknowledged theories that be encompassed in deontology are natural law theory (morally right action follows the dictates of nature) and divine command theory (morally nght action is the one that God commands)

In accordance with non-consequentialism, the deliberation of Vietnamese government about whether or not legitimate same-sex marriage will be evaluated based

on a quarter of following criteria: universal, self, means, long-term societal impact

3 Virtue ethics

The Virtue Theory is an agent-based approach to ethics This approach focuses on the fundamental character and motivations of the individual moral agent Moral behavior is not limited or attached to a rule or any guidelines, but rather involves the individual rationally pursuing moral excellence as a goal in and of itself The virtuous agent is involved in a continual quest to find balance in ethical decision-making Such an agent does not apply any specific ‘rules’ in making ethical decisions, but rather attempts to make decisions that are consistent with the pursuit of a particular kind of excellence that entails exercising sound moral judgment guided by virtues like courage, wisdom,

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