Justices remain divided over redefining marriage
ARGUMENTS were underway at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 28, in a spell of potentially landmark cases that could determine once and for all whether same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry. But the Court seemed deeply divided on the civil rights issue.
The historic hearing provided the public the first indication of whether Supreme Court justices will make the final decision to end bans against gay and lesbian nuptials across the country, and make marriage equality the law of the land.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who is often the pivotal swing vote on the bench but has authored the last three gay rights opinions in the high court, seemed torn about a final decision. But his tone was more emotional and emphatic when he made the case for same-sex marriage, giving gay rights advocates reason to be optimistic by the end of the arguments, which lasted two and a half hours.
The issues the justices face are two-fold. First, they must decide whether states are constitutionally required to provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Second, they must determine whether the couples’ marriages in states where the act is legal are valid in states with same-sex marriage bans.
Chief Justice John Roberts asked tough questions but seemed to lean more closely to conservative justices, while Kennedy questioned both the plaintiff and the defense. On the anti-gay marriage side, the justice pointed out that for “millennia” the definition of marriage has been between a man and a woman, and he called efforts to legalize same-sex marriage a redefinition of that institution.
Kennedy also pointed out that who is to say justices on the court should conclude “we know better,” and again brought up the need to consider the dignity of gay individuals and same-sex couples, which in past cases he voted in favor of the cause.
“Pro-gay marriage advocates are not seeking to join the institution, you’re seeking to change what the institution is,” Justice Roberts commented, acknowledging how rapidly society has accepted same-sex marriage in 36 states, and the overall public opinion in favor of it. “A Court decision could close the debate, and close minds.”
The once-hushed conversation has taken quite a turn over the years. According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted this year, 59 percent of Americans said they supported same-sex marriage rights.
In a 2013 landmark ruling, the Supreme Court pulled the plug on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which explicitly defined marriage as between a man and a woman, and a slew of challenges to same-sex marriage bans across the country began. Initially the high court refused to step in on appeals to marriage equality victories in October, but many states have changed their laws within a matter of months.
Same-sex marriage bans in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee were among the final holdouts after the DOMA ruling, which was debated in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Though lower courts struck down the states’ bands, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals became the first of its kind in the nation to rule in favor of the states.
More than 140 amicus curiae briefs were filed to press the issue, with arguments against marriage equality ranging from abortion-related issues to same-sex nuptials risking even death.
Lawyers with the pro-gay marriage organization Lambda Legal, which represented two of the cases wrapped into the Supreme Court mega-case, said the hearing was “an awe-inspiring and singular moment in the march towards justice.”
“It was incredibly moving to gather in the Supreme Court chamber with their parents and all 30 plaintiffs in these historic cases. Mary and Doug were fantastic, making a compelling and to my mind irrefutable case on their behalf,” Lambda Legal’s Alphonse Gerhardstein said of the two lawyers who argued in favor of same-sex marriage before the Court on Tuesday.
U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, who represented the Obama administration’s views, also presented arguments in favor of same-sex marriage. His focus was on equal protection under the 14th amendment, and likening bans on same-sex marriage to handing second-class status to gay Americans.
“I don’t know why we would repeat history,” he said.
Former Secretary of State Hillary is the first 2016 candidate to actively embrace the hearing in support of marriage equality, changing the colors of her Democrat campaign “H with an arrow” logo to a gay-pride rainbow. The campaign also released a video clip of Clinton sitting around a table with Iowa voters who said they were “thrilled” by her stance for the Supreme Court to rule in favor of marriage equality.
“Every loving couple and family deserves to be recognized and treated equally under the law across our nation,” Clinton tweeted on Tuesday.
(With reports from MSNBC, CNN, New York Times)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek April 29 – May 1, 2015 Sec. A pg.1)
