Thread: Marriage is a R-I-T-E Not a R-I-G-H-T

Supreme Court rules Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional


By Sam Baker - 06/26/13 10:02 AM ET


The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the heart of a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court overturned a section of the Defense of Marriage Act that bars same-sex couples from receiving federal benefits, even if they live in a state that recognizes same-sex marriages.

The challenge to DOMA was filed by Edith Windsor, a New York widow who inherited her late wife's home but was forced to pay dramatically higher property taxes than she would have if she had married a man, even though the state recognized her marriage. Kennedy wrote that the law desprived liberties to couples in same-sex marriages that are protected by the Fifth Amendment.
"DOMA singles out a class of persons deemed by a State entitled to recognition and protection to enhance their own liberty," Kennedy wrote. "It imposes a disability on the class by refusing to acknowledge a status the State finds to be dignified and proper. DOMA instructs all federal officials, and indeed all persons with whom same-sex couples interact, including their own children, that their marriage is less worthy than the marriages of others.

The court's liberal wing joined Kennedy in the majority decision, while the court's conservative justices dissented in three separate opinions.
In his blistering dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia said the court had "no power" to reach its decision and was suffering from "an exalted conception" of its role in the nation.
"We have no power to decide this case. And even if we did, we have no power under the Constitution to invalidate this democratically adopted legislation," Scalia wrote. "The Court’s errors on both points spring forth from the same diseased root: an exalted conception of the role of this institution in America."
Separately, the court did not reach a ruling in another landmark case on same-sex marriage.
Citing procedural issues with the case, the justices declined to rule on whether California’s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional. Technical and procedural issues had marred the case from the beginning. The justices questioned during oral arguments whether the group defending Proposition 8 had the legal standing to do so.
This story was updated at 10:33 a.m.


Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/news/307865-supreme-cour-rules-defense-of-marriage-act-unconstitutional#ixzz2XKijv7BM

Supreme Court clears path for same-sex marriage in California


By Sam Baker - 06/26/13 10:28 AM ET


The Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for same-sex couples to marry in California, but avoided directly answering constitutional questions about state marriage laws.
In a 5-4 decision, the court said procedural issues prevented it from reaching a ruling on the merits of California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state.

The justices said supporters of Proposition 8 did not have the legal standing to defend it in the courts. They declined to rule on the law’s merits and vacated a federal appeals court’s decision. That process appears to leave in place a lower court’s order preventing state officials from enforcing Proposition 8, which would mean same-sex couples can marry in the state.
But by hewing only to procedure, the Supreme Court avoided several modest options that would have found fault with the substance of Proposition 8. It certainly did not come close to a broad ruling declaring a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, as the attorneys challenging Proposition 8 had wanted.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the court’s decision. Justice Anthony Kennedy led the dissent.
This story was updated at 11:10 a.m.


Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/news/307...#ixzz2XKwWv46q

Same-sex marriage is legally recognized in several jurisdictions within the United States. As of June 2013, thirteen states—California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington —as well as the District of Columbia and five Native American tribesHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-1"[1]—have legalized same-sex marriage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States