BIG DAY FOR THE GAY MARRIAGE CROWD, no doubt about it. In california, the people voted against gay marriage, a federal court ruled their vote unconstitutional, and the supreme court refused to step in. It seems somehow strange, that seven million people could vote for something, then be told its unconstitutional. Just another reminder of our system of checks and balances, keeping power distributed in many different hands.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was rather strange when it was signed in 1996 by bill clinton; it made you wonder why the federal government felt the need to endorse traditional marriage. To keep the gay marriage participants in gay marriage states from laying claim to federal marriage benefits, that's why.
As of now, in any state in which gay marriage is allowed, all married people have the same federal benefits By creating a separate class of marriage, the federal government created a category of inequality and loss of liberty, so ruled the court.. So, Defense of Marriage goes the way of "don't ask don't tell". Both seemed like great ideas at the time.
Over the past few years, there has been a strong move towards support of gay marriage; apparently far more than fifty percent of the american people now support it, and this is an enormous increase.
The conservatives are shocked, horrified, and outraged by the supreme court's rulings, as you might imagine. Be on the look out for extra harsh conservative vituperation, hate mongering, general spewing of venom.
Eventually they will accept it, then start to act as if they have always accepted it, and wonder why anyone feels the need to go to any speical trouble to protect it, and they did in the race and gender equality struggles. As long as they catch up, i reckon it don't much matter how or when.
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