Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Marriage Equality



Today, the Supreme Court heard cases for whether or not to same-sex couples will be allowed to marry. What does that mean? It means today, the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the Unites Stated) will be deciding the constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage (popularly known as "Prop 8"), as well as hearing the case for the legality of the Defense of Marriage Act. This is a huge step for our country, where historic decisions will undoubtedly be made.

There most likely won't be a decision until June and there are a variety of outcomes that could be reached. According to the NYTimes:
The court may say the Constitution requires all states to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. At the other extreme, the court may say the Constitution is silent on the question, leaving states free to allow or reject same-sex marriage. (There is no possibility that the court would ban same-sex marriage in places that choose to permit it.)

There are also intermediate possibilities. The court could adopt a rationale that would apply only to California along the lines of the one endorsed by the Ninth Circuit. It could adopt the "eight-state solution" suggested by the Obama administration. Or it could dismiss the case for want of standing, which would probably effectively allow same-sex marriages in California, the nation's most populous state.
I hope the SCOTUS makes the right decision - which is, by the way, make it clear once and for all that it's unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriage.

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