The Supreme Court is hearing a case on Doma and prop 8 simultaneously. On the legality of Prop 8 is questionable only because it was voted upon by the citizens of California. Justice Antonin Scalia said, “When did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage?” My answer is, it became unconstitutional when discrimination was declared illegal. Justice Scalia asked this while hearing the defense of Proposition 8 of California which defines marriage as one man and one woman, pretty much a mini Doma. Despite Prop 8 being voted upon by the citizens of California, what they did was technically illegal.To act against any one group because their or beleifs or differences is discrimination and has already been declared unconstitional. By that line of reasoning it should also apply to Doma, but there is 2 different cases regarding each law which both do the same thing. During the hearing it was also said, “The right to get married, the right to have the relationship of marriage is a personal right. it is apart of the right of privacy, association, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” If anything, that shows legalization of gay marriage, but that also shows that it should be a state issue rather than a issue of the Supreme Court. That quote pretty much says the first amendment defends gay marriage. if someone wants to marry anyone else, it is a private thing. However for legal purposes, it is regulated and overseen by the government, otherwise no one would get benefits for being married other than “love.”
With the privacy of couples, how does homosexuality affect anyone else’s marriage? how does it affect the concept of marriage? Justice Elena Kegan said, “What harm do you see happening in when and how and what harm to the institution of marriage or to opposite sex couples?” The only harm comes through those of strong religious belief. There was a lot of picketers talking about gay marriage being wrong for religious reasons. However, since the separation of church and state, not a single fuck will be given because that cannot have any affect on the decisions of the Supreme Court which is a federal institution. Therefore, Whether or not your belief in homosexuality is wrong only matters in your personal decisions and not to the decisions of others who happen to be in love with someone who is of the same sex.
If this continues like this then either the Supreme court will make the ruling of the legality of gay marriage or decide it to be a state issue. either way, there is no way Doma or Prop 8 can be determined as constitutional.
Works Cited
My works cited is the video posted by The Washington Post. it is also found on The Washington Post Website and is accesible that way.
Great post! I felt the passion about the issue in your writing and I loved it! I totally agree with you. I feel like people should be able to marry whomever they want. Marriage is about love. Why does it matter if it's between a man and a woman, two men, two women, a midget and the jolly green giant? Well, you get my point. But you know what really blew me in that video (which by the way was a great aid to your righting)? He said there was a question about procreation. That was the dumbest thing I've heard all day. I don't know if homeboy is aware, but people don't get married to "procreate". People "procreate" all the time and are not married. Some married couples aren’t even able to have kids. My point is procreation and marriage has nothing to do with one another, so that shouldn't even be an argument. I think Americans "procreate" just fine, probably a little more than we should. And then they said if same sex marriage was allowed, they don't know what the consequences would be in our future. They think the world is going to blow up or something??! I never understood what the big deal was. It's very sad to know that people can't marry their true love simply because of their sexual orientation. It's 2013. This is America. They need to just get over it and let people be happy.
ReplyDeleteNow *this* is what I've been looking for in your posts. I really wanted to see you sink your teeth into the analysis of the actions of the Court and Prop 8 and parse it out for your readers. You begin that well here.
ReplyDeleteMight I suggest breaking up that first paragraph? Or adding a few more quotes from the justices? It would be very interesting to see a juxtaposition between a conservative justice like Scalia and the comments made by justices like Kagan. I think your topic has a lot of fuel and I hope you keep writing on this!