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The history of same-sex marriage paper
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The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is a controversial law in the past as it is now in the present. I chose to write about this law because the concept of gay marriage is being liberally accepted today compared to its heavy intolerance in the past. Today, countless couples are trying to marry yet must face obstacles such as DOMA that hinders their freedom to marry. I, myself, is an advocate for same-sex marriage and learning more about DOMA lets me see what these same-sex couples go through. In this paper, I will discuss the origins of the DOMA, what it encompasses, what the effects are today and in the future, how DOMA affects me, and how DOMA affects Guam.
I. The Origins of the Defense of Marriage Act
The historical context of DOMA arose from a Hawaii Supreme Court Case, Baehr vs. Lewin (1993). Nina Baehr sued the state of Hawaii stating that the state’s refusal of giving her and her partner a marriage license was illegal discrimination and unconstitutional. The court saw that case had merit and ruled that the prohibition of same-sex marriage constituted to discrimination based on gender. Under Hawaii’s Equal Rights Amendment, the state would need to exhibit a compelling state interest in order to ban same-sex marriage. The case was remanded to a lower court, which declared that Hawaii must permit same-sex marriages because the state failed to exhibit that its ban on such marriages gathered a compelling state interest.
The ruling of Baehr vs. Lewin was a victory for gay rights activists, hope for other states searching for the same freedom, and disappointment for opponents of same-sex marriage. Yet this victory was short lived (until complete legalization in November 13, 2013) since the state appealed the lower court’s decis...
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"Frequently Asked Questions: Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)." GLAAD: Leading the conversation for LGBT equality. http://www.glaad.org/marriage/doma (accessed November 10, 2013).
"Respect for Marriage Act." Human Rights Campaign. http://www.hrc.org/laws-and-legisla tion/federal-legislation/respect-for-marriage-act (accessed November 22, 2013).
"The Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in the Wake of Romer v. Evans ." New England Law Boston. http://www.nesl.edu/userfiles/file/lawreview/vol32/1/robb. htm (accessed November 12, 2013).
Thompson, T. "Marriage Equality: Ramifications of the Supreme Court's DOMA Decision" SHRM Guam Chapter. http://guam.shrm.org/sites/guam.shrm.org/files/Todd% 20Thompson.pdf (accessed November 22, 2013)
In the 1996 Supreme Court case Romer v. Evans, the voters of the state of Colorado approved a second amendment to their state Constitution through a referendum, in order to prevent homosexuals from becoming a protected minority. Before the referendum occurred, many of the major cities in Colorado passed laws prohibiting people to be discriminated against based on their sexuality, including whether or not they are homosexual. The citizens of Colorado who disapprove of homosexuality then created a petition to put the second amendment to a vote, and won with a majority of 53% of the votes. Richard Evans, with the support of many others, took the amendment to court claiming it was unconstitutional, and should be removed from the constitution, going on to win in the Colorado Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.
In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the court determined gay marriage to be a constitutional right, striking down several dozen state laws against SSM. While there has been some residual pushback against this decision, overall there has been broad complacence due to a high level of public support for the decision. Little scholarship has been done on how this decision has been implemented because the discussion was made so recently, but some measures show that “99.87 percent of the U.S. population [lives] in a county where same-sex marriage licenses are available” ("Local Government Responses to Obergefell v. Hodges." n.d.). While there are some pockets of resistance it is clear that there is broad local compliance with this decision, likely because of its broad popularity. Instances in which local bodies choose to disregard the Obergefell decision are highly publicized, and generally receive a great deal of public criticism. Thus, the SSM marriage example has fulfilled the two conditions for successful policy, as interest groups were able to use the courts to accomplish a set of aims, and local support has allowed for the implementation of the policy. While there has been some pushback along the way, this pushback has only served to further raise awareness of issue in the minds of the American people, and helped this cause gain
Abstract On June 26, 2015 a divided Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples could now marry nationwide. At the time of the split ruling there were 9 supreme court justices, 5 of the justices were Republicans, and the remaining 4 were Democrats. In high profile cases it is except that the justices will vote along party lines. When the 5-4 ruling was reveled by the following statement. “It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right (Corn,2015).” written by
The supreme court case of Obergefell v. Hodges is one huge reason why we have same-sex marriage as of today. Richard Hodges is the defendant while James Obergefell is the plaintiff. As a result of this case, states are unable to pass laws that limit marriage of same-sex couples. It requires all states to license marriages between these couples, and makes states recognise marriages made outside of said states. Before this case, there were several other cases that supported similar, but not exact situations, which will be briefly covered in this essay. However, the Obergefell v. Hodges case is what officially made same-sex marriage undeniable by all states in the union.
The constitutional right of gay marriage is a hot topic for debate in the United States. Currently, 37 states have legal gay marriage, while 13 states have banned gay marriage. The two essays, "What’s Wrong with Gay Marriage?" by Katha Pollitt and "Gay "Marriage": Societal Suicide" by Charles Colson provide a compare and contrast view of why gay marriage should be legal or not. Pollitt argues that gay marriage is a constitutional human right and that it should be legal, while Colson believes that gay marriage is sacrilegious act that should not be legal in the United States and that “it provides a backdrop for broken families and increases crime rates” (Colson, pg535). Both authors provide examples to support their thesis. Katha Pollitt provides more relevant data to support that gay marriage is a constitutional right and should be enacted as law in our entire country, she has a true libertarian mindset.
On June 26, 2015, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right in the decision on Obergefell et al. v. Hodges, Director, Ohio Department of Health, et al. This controversial decision overturned the law of more than 17 states. In the 5-4 decision, Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan voted with the majority and Justices Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito were dissenting. At the heart of the controversy is the philosophy of judicial restraint and judicial activism. Was the Obergefell decision an example of judicial activism? Certainly, because it declared state laws banning same-sex marriages as unconstitutional. The Court’s decision, which was based on precedent and interpretation of the Constitution, was just.
For some background, this case escalated to the Supreme Court since several groups of same-sex couples from different states, sued state agencies when their marriage was refused to be recognized. As it escalated through appeals, the plaintiffs argued that the states were violating the Equal Protection clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal Protection, according to the Constitution refers to the fact that, “any State [shall not] deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” (23). The opposition of this case was that, 1) The Constitution does not address same-sex marriage as a policy, and 2) The sovereignty of states regarding the decision. Ultimately, and according to the Oyez project, the Court held that “[the Amendment] guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects, and that analysis applies to same-sex couples,” and therefore, same-sex marriage is a fundamental liberty.
...r any religious book into the government’s laws. DOMA could be seen as a religious act to prohibit homosexuals the right to marry. Who can think of any reason besides religion why two men can’t get married? Then again, maybe there is an answer of why they can’t get married and why DOMA hasn’t come down under separation of church and state. Growing up each child has a different relationship with their parents. The mother, no matter how feminine or not, nurtures their child and cares deeply for them. The Dad, no matter how masculine or not, fights to protect their child from the nasty people in the world. Without either role a child could become more hardened, with no one to nurture or no one to protect them. People are entitled to their opinions and however one feels will determine if the impact of DOMA and what has since happened is a great one or a horrible one.
The Supreme Court has resolved, by a vote of five to four that the "Constitution provided no fundamental right to engage in homosexual sodomy." (Bowers v. Hardwick) This paper will show that the analysis behind the Bowers v. Hardwick decision was flawed and limited in scope. I believe that the government does not have the right to prohibit homosexual or heterosexual consensual sodomy. Anti-sodomy laws violate the right to privacy, equal protection, and provide no reasonable compelling state interest for these violations.
In April 2002, Texas’s highest criminal court, The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, refuses to hear Lambda Legal’s appeal. In July 2002, Lambda Legal request U.S. Supreme Court to review the constitutional regarding The “Homosexual Conduct” law. The case presents the high court with two independent Constitutional claims that Lambda Legal urges to review: 1) Equal protection 2) Rights of privacy and liberty. December 2002, U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear the case. In January 2003, Lambda Legal files its brief urging U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Texas’s “Homosexual Conduct” law. March 2003, Lambda Legal presents oral arguments before U.S. Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Texas “Homosexual Conduct”
... if? The legal consequences of marriage and the legal needs of lesbian and gay male couples. Michigan Law review. Nov.1996. Pg. 447-491. http://www.jstor.org.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/stable/1290119?seq=1&uid=3739664&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103079482127
What if it was not possible to get the benefits that were promised through marriage? What if a marriage license was made unable to obtain? What if love was defined, and not respected? The Defense of Marriage act, created by the house of congress, on January 3rd, 1996 (Defense of Marriage Bill). Passed 342-67, Republican over democratic vote ratio. (Govtrack.us) Created by the 104th congress, 396th house vote (Govtrack.us), and ruled unconstitutional by the Judicial This act did not make it illegal to have a spouse of the opposite sex, for it left that up to the states, although it made it so a gay, or lesbian couples could not get the same benefits as a straight couple could. Benefits such as, Estate Planning Benefits, Death Benefits, Consumer
The Supreme Court judges ruled that the 14th amendment must prohibit states from banning gay couple right to be wed. The case that made this happen was Obergefell v Hodges, which started in April of 2015. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is one of the judges at the Supreme Court states, “Excluding same-sex couples from marriage thus conflicts with a central premise of the right to marry. Without the recognition, stability, and predictability marriage offers, their children suffer the stigma of knowing their families are somehow lesser…” (“A Constitutional Right”). Also, Justice Antonin Scalia implied, “The law can recognize as marriage whatever sexual attachments and living arrangements it wishes”
The legality of gay marriage is a hot topic for many reasons. Traditionally marriage has been known as a legal bond between a man and a woman. Times have changed since those days. More and more people are coming out of the closet everyday. There are more gay people today than there ever have been and that number is only increasing. Marriage is a way for two people to show their commitment towards each other, so it should not matter what their gender or sexual orientation is.
America is a country known for its freedom, yet people are told who they can and cannot marry. According to Kim Richards a case in Hawaii in 1993 where judges said the state’s constitution required a good reason not to give gay’s equal marriage rights. Congress was pushed to pass the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevented homosexuals who were allowed to marry from receiving the usual benefits of marriage, like taxes and retirement. In response states have made their stand on domestic partnerships and civil unions. DOMA was passed out of fear that a lawsuit filed in Hawaii would make them allow same sex marriage. The congress did not want to allow same sex couples the same benefits heterosexual couples receive while legally married (4-6). Opponents of DOMA claims it violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Full Faith and Credit Clause. By 2002, thirty-six states banned same-sex marriage or recognizing of same-sex marriage formed in other states (Richards 4-6). Benjamin Wittes says the uproar began in 1991 when Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, and liberals became upset claiming it was a contradiction to our free country (46-48). Dayton says Massachusetts was the first state to sign the bill to allow marriage equality in their state. While republican opponents win the legislative fight with twenty-one states denying marriage equality while just ten have granted the rights to homosexual couples. Polls have shown the majority of America, even including one of our most liberal states, California, remains against gay marriage. After the bill passing in Massachusetts in 2003, thirteen states passed anti-gay-marriage initiatives. Gay right activists are in hopes that states will not follow (...