Supreme Ruling

I originally intended to write more about gay supporting advertisements, but the article from BBC caught my eye, “Gay marriage: Supreme Court justices criticise Doma”. I have written previously about how Doma has been declared unconstitutional several times before in lower federal courts and about it reaching the Supreme Court docket. However, time has passed and now there are articles about the Supreme Court.
Recently the Supreme Court has been discussing constitutionality on the Doma act and California’s gay marriage ban. Justice Kennedy seems more the type to be concerned with whether or not the issues are worth being decided on by the Supreme Court when he thinks gay rights is something that should be decided by the states. The Supreme Court is making a decision in June and depending on Justice Kennedy as he happens to be a swing vote between the liberals and conservatives.
As I’ve mentioned before, Doma gives a legal definition to marriage and defines it as one male and female. Anyone who fits this definition gets the various benefits from the federal government that is served to the legally married. This effectively denies any acknowledgement to gay couples and refuses to give them any benefits. Acoording to Justice Kennedy,” The question is whether or not the federal government under a federalism system has the authority to regulate marriage”. If the federal government did not have this authority, how would they know who gets what in regards to taxes and other benefits? While this might not seem morally right, it is a necessary evil to contain order and organization.
All gay rights supporters would hope that a decision like this from the Supreme Court would carry nationwide and gay marriage and make legal everywhere. However, even with a big decision, the Supreme Court is ruling on Doma, not gay marriage in general. Therefore, would this merely be a stepping stone towards national unity in legalizing gay marriage or could it actually be used to carry that goal to completion now?

Publicity

These ads show homosexuality in a positive light and are being used to advertise various products. The Snickers ad shows that even big name brands are allowing homosexuality to be attached to their name. While this doesn’t exactly mean that Snickers is completely for gay rights; it however does mean that they acknowledge and are ok with it. Throughout the course of time it is fair to say that gay rights have become a more tolerant existence of society through time. In, “15 Ads That Changed TheWay We Think About Gays And Lesbians,” Samantha Felix says,

 

we have come a long way since those days [referring to the ads from 1950]. Ads today are both inclusive and respectful, and often boldly targeting the LGBT community directly.

 Truth is that while, as I've mentioned in previous blogs, violence and persecution still exist you can see that there is a progression towards equality. A beneficial thing about the media is that it is completely viewer driven. Meaning that whatever hot topic or likes and dislikes that society has, so will the media. However, it is the same vice versa. Therefore companies producing ads that show support for homosexuality means that either society supports it or that particular company is trying to push society into that direction. Either intention is a good thing for gay rights.