AFTER reviewing the challenges (to both nationwide restrictions placed on gay couples under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and California’s Proposition 8 or same-sex marriage ban), the US Supreme Court ruled that DOMA is unconstitutional, and that same-sex marriages can now resume in California, after the SC dismissed the appeal of anti-gay marriage advocates.
At the core of these two landmark gay marriage cases is the principle stipulated in the Declaration of Independence of America: “All men are created equal.”
This is the underlying spirit of the equal protection law in the US Constitution.
In Windsor v. United States, the Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 ruling that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) — which limits all federal marriage benefits to opposite sex couples — violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples.
DOMA was signed into law in 1996, and defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman.
“DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, as the majority opinion.
Justice Kennedy was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
In the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry, which considered the constitutionality of California’s same-sex marriage ban (called Proposition 8), the highest court ruled in a 5-4 vote that supporters of Prop. 8 have no standing in court.
These anti-gay marriage advocates brought the case to the Supreme Court, after a lower court struck down the law. California’s governor and Attorney-General declined to defend the ban.
The highest court also ruled that anti-gay marriage advocates in California may not appeal the decision anymore.
There are about 18,000 same-sex couples, who legally tied the knot in California in May 2008, when the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage.
However, in November of 2008, California voters passed Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage.
The majority opinion was penned by Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Ginsburg, Breyer and Kagan.
The decision of the Supreme Court effectively now allows same-sex marriages to resume in California, but fell short in ruling that same-sex marriages should not be banned in all states across the nation.
ABC News reported that according to Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin, the only thing standing between gay Californians and marriage is an order from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
California Gov. Jerry Brown said the state will instruct county clerks across the state to start issuing marriage licenses to LGBT couples, once the Supreme Court’s decision is made final and the legal details have been completed in the lower courts.
Mercury News reported that accorder to Gov. Brown, Attorney-General Kamala Harris has concluded that the original injunction against Proposition 8 applies statewide, which would compel the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, once the Supreme Court’s ruling becomes final in about 25 days.
Anti same-sex marriage advocates, however, vow to continue the fight.
President Barack Obama applauded the Supreme Court’s decision, and said the “country is better off,” after the high court’s ruling.
“The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts: when all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free,” Obama said.
As CNN reported, Obama said he has directed Attorney-General Eric Holder to begin efforts to implement the ruling, which requires that the federal government recognize valid same-sex marriages.
“I’ve directed the Attorney-General to work with other members of my Cabinet to review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for Federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly,” Obama said.
(To be continued)
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
