At First Of Gay-Marriage Cas, Skepticism About Whether Court Should Weigh In : The Two-Way : NPR

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE THE US SUPREME COURT, 2013
• SUPREME COURT BOLSTERS GAY MARRIAGE WH TWO MAJOR RULGS
• GAY MARRIAGE THE US SUPREME COURT: OBERGEFELL V. HODG
• GAY MARRIAGE
• HOW 2013 BEME THE GREATT YEAR IN GAY RIGHTS HISTORY
• SUPREME COURT EXTENDS GAY-MARRIAGE RIGHTS WH TWO RULGS
• TEXAS JUDGE WHO DON’T WANT TO PERFORM GAY MARRIAGE CEREMONI HOP WEB SIGNER’S SUPREME COURT SE HELPS HER FIGHT
• AT FIRST OF GAY-MARRIAGE CAS, SKEPTICISM ABOUT WHETHER COURT SHOULD WEIGH IN
• THE LGHABLE ARGUMENT AGAST GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIED UPLE FLEE RSIA AFTER RECEIVG ATH THREATS

GAY MARRIAGE THE US SUPREME COURT, 2013

In 1981, the San Francis Board of Supervisors passed an ordance that allowed homosexual upl and unmarried heterosexual upl to register for domtic partnership, which also granted hospal visatn rights and other benefs. Bh that would outlaw same-sex marriag the whole untry, ten typilly nservative tat along wh Oregon enacted state-level bans on gay marriag.

In 2010, Massachetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, found Sectn 3 of DOMA that fed marriage as a unn between one man and one woman to be unnstutnal, 2013, Uned Stat v. By 2015 (the year Obergefell was cid) thirty-six stat already issued marriage licens to same-sex upl and more than 20 unti around the world had already legalized gay marriage, startg wh the Netherlands 2000. Judge Heyburn held that “homosexual persons nstute a quasi-spect class, ” and clared that Kentucky’s law banng same-sex marriag vlat the Equal Protectn Clse of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Uned Stat Constutn.

Wdsor cisn, gay marriage bans were overturned by urt lgs several stat, but those lgs were put on hold pendg appeals to the US Supreme Court. 6, 2014, the Supreme Court cled to hear appeals om five of those stat, and the cisn immediately cleared the way for legal gay marriage Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virgia, and Wisns.

SUPREME COURT BOLSTERS GAY MARRIAGE WH TWO MAJOR RULGS

Six other stat which gay marriage bans had been overturned, Colorado, Kansas, North Carola, South Carola, Wt Virgia, and Wyomg, were also affected by the Supreme Court lg bee they were the jurisdictns of the lower urts that had overturned the gay marriage bans. Sce the lower urt had already clared Proposn 8 to be unnstutnal, the cisn was nsired to have cleared the way for gay marriag to rume the state.

GAY MARRIAGE THE US SUPREME COURT: OBERGEFELL V. HODG

“Outsi of the marriage ntext, n you thk of any other ratnal basis, reason, for a State g sexual orientatn as a factor nyg homosexuals benefs or imposg burns on them? That fdg follows exorably om this Court’s equal protectn jurispnce, the extensive trial rerd, and Proponents’ repeated ncsns that gay men and lbians have faced a history of discrimatn based on a tra that has no bearg on their abily to ntribute to society… [T]here is no group Amerin society who has been targeted by ballot iativ more than gays and lbians, and they have sentially lost a hundred percent of the ntts over same-sex marriage.

Ined, the undisputed fact that gay men and lbians have been subjected to a history of discrimatn based on a tra that bears no relatnship to their abily to ntribute to society is sufficient, and of self, to renr classifitns based on sexual orientatn ‘spect’ and to give rise to heightened scty. “The Defense of Marriage Act do not discrimate between heterosexuals and homosexuals, but between oppose-sex married upl and same-sex married upl. Although DOMA admtedly has a greater impact on homosexuals than heterosexuals, that impact, unr this Court’s precents, is not nstutnally relevant unls n be traced back to an tent or purpose on behalf of Congrs to discrimate agast homosexuals, as opposed to the mere knowledge that would have a disparate impact on them.

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTVioThe Tim’s Adam Liptak tak a look at how the Supreme Court’s cisn to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act Jabsohn/RtersJune 26, 2013WASHINGTON — In a pair of major victori for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court on Wednday led that married same-sex upl were entled to feral benefs and, by clg to ci a se om California, effectively allowed same-sex marriag lgs leave place laws banng same-sex marriage around the natn, and the urt cled to say whether there was a nstutnal right to such unns. Christopher Gregory/The New York TimHe said the law was motivated by a sire to harm gay and lbian upl and their fai, meang the “moral and sexual choic” of such upl and huiatg “tens of thoands of children now beg raised by same-sex upl.

GAY MARRIAGE

A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 1 of the New York edn wh the headle: Jtic Extend Benefs To Gay Coupl; Allow Same-Sex Marriag In California. Hodg over whether or not gay marriage is a right guaranteed by the US Constutn, and whether or not gay marriag performed stat where has been legalized mt be regnized stat which ban the practice. On June 26, 2015, the Court led 5-4 that gay marriage is a nstutnal right, meang that all 50 stat mt allow and that all existg bans are valid.

The briefs filed support of gay marriage clud one by 370 small and large bs, one by 300 Republin officeholrs and activists, and one filed by a group of former high-rankg civilian Defense Department personnel.

The briefs filed opposn to gay marriage clu those by stat that have banned gay marriage, along wh briefs filed by var nservative policians, scholars, and anizatns.

HOW 2013 BEME THE GREATT YEAR IN GAY RIGHTS HISTORY

After yellg “If you support gay marriage you will burn hell” while the arguments were progrs, the man was dragged screamg out of the urtroom. Kennedy exprsed a reticence to overri a fn of marriage that “has been wh for lennia, ” yet suggted that gay upl uld have a “noble purpose” wishg to marry. The New York Tim reported that Kennedy appeared “more emotnal and emphatic when he ma the se for same-sex marriage, ” givg “gay rights advot reason for optimism.

Roberts told lawyers argug on behalf of gay marriage proponents that “you’re not seekg to jo that stutn, you’re seekg to change what the stutn is. As the State self mak marriage all the more prec by the signifince attach to , excln om that stat has the effect of teachg that gays and lbians are unequal important rpects. Marriage did not e about as a rult of a polil movement, disvery, disease, war, relig doctre, or any other movg force of world history—and certaly not as a rult of a prehistoric cisn to exclu gays and lbians.

By one vote, the urt l that same-sex marriage nnot be banned the Uned Stat and that all same-sex marriag mt be regnized natnwi, fally grantg same-sex upl equal rights to heterosexual upl unr the 1971, jt two years after the Stonewall Rts that unofficially marked the begng of the stggle for gay rights and marriage equaly, the Mnota Supreme Court had found same-sex marriage bans nstutnal, a precent which the Supreme Court had never challenged.

SUPREME COURT EXTENDS GAY-MARRIAGE RIGHTS WH TWO RULGS

As homosexualy gradually beme more accepted Amerin culture, the nservative backlash was strong enough to force Print Bill Clton to sign the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), prohibg the regnn of same-sex marriag at the feral level, to law 1996. Obergefell origated wh a gay uple, Jim Obergefell and John Arthur, who were married Maryland, where same-sex marriage was legal, but whose marriage was not regnized by Oh thori.

Early Years: Same-Sex Marriage Bans In 1970, jt one year after the historic Stonewall Rts that galvanized the gay rights movement, law stunt Richard Baker and librarian Jam McConnell applied for a marriage license Gerald Nelson rejected their applitn bee they were a same-sex uple, and a trial urt upheld his cisn. ” This lg effectively blocked feral urts om lg on same-sex marriage for s, leavg the cisn solely the hands of stat, which alt blow after blow to those hopg to see gay marriage beg 1973, for stance, Maryland beme the first state to create a law that explicly f marriage as a unn between a man and woman, a belief held by many nservative relig groups.

TEXAS JUDGE WHO DON’T WANT TO PERFORM GAY MARRIAGE CEREMONI HOP WEB SIGNER’S SUPREME COURT SE HELPS HER FIGHT

Though the gay rights movement saw some advancements the 1970s and 1980s—such as Harvey Milk beg the first openly gay man elected to public office the untry 1977—the fight for gay marriage ma ltle headway for many years.

In 1989, the San Francis Board of Supervisors passed an ordance that allowed homosexual upl and unmarried heterosexual upl to register for domtic partnerships, which granted hospal visatn rights and other years later, the District of Columbia siarly passed a new law that allowed same-sex upl to register as domtic partners. C., 1993, the hight urt Hawaii led that a ban on same-sex marriage may vlate that state nstutn’s Equal Protectn Clse—the first time a state urt has ever ched toward makg gay marriage Hawaii Supreme Court sent the se—brought by a gay male uple and two lbian upl who were nied marriage licens 1990—back for further review to the lower First Circu Court, which 1991 origally dismissed the the state tried to prove that there was “pellg state tert” jtifyg the ban, the se would be tied up ligatn for the next three Defense of Marriage Act Opponents of gay marriage, however, did not s on their hnch.

Congrs 1996 passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which Print Bill Clton signed to didn’t ban gay marriage outright but specified that only heterosexual upl uld be granted feral marriage benefs.

AT FIRST OF GAY-MARRIAGE CAS, SKEPTICISM ABOUT WHETHER COURT SHOULD WEIGH IN

That is, even if a state ma gay marriage legal, same-sex upl still wouldn’t be able to file e tax jotly, sponsor spo for immigratn benefs or receive spoal Social Secury payments, among many other act was a huge setback for the marriage equaly movement, but transient good news arose three months later: Hawaii Judge Kev S. Phg for Change: Civil Unns The next saw a whirlwd of activy on the gay marriage ont, begng wh the year 2000 when Vermont beme the first state to legalize civil unns, a legal stat that provis most of the state-level benefs of years later, Massachetts beme the first state to legalize gay marriage when the Massachetts Supreme Court led that same-sex upl had the right to marry Goodridge v. The state fally troduced the untry to gay marriage (m the feral benefs) when began issug same-sex marriage licens on May 17, that year, the U.

2004 was notable for upl many other stat as well, though for the oppose reason: Ten typilly nservative stat, along wh Oregon, enacted state-level bans on gay marriage. Kansas and Texas were next 2005, and 2006 saw seven more stat passg Constutnal amendments agast gay towards the end of the , gay marriage beme legal var stat, cludg Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont (the first state to approve by legislative means) and New Hampshire.

Domtic Partnerships Throughout the and the begng of the next, California equently ma headl for seawg on the gay marriage state was the first to pass a domtic partnership statute 1999, and legislators tried to pass a same-sex marriage bill 2005 and 2007. Perry legalized same-sex marriage early 2010s ntued the state-level battl over gay marriage that fed the precedg , wh at least one notable event.

THE LGHABLE ARGUMENT AGAST GAY MARRIAGE

For the first time the untry’s history, voters (rather than judg or legislators) Mae, Maryland, and Washgton approved Constutnal amendments permtg same-sex marriage marriage also beme a feral issue 2010, Massachetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, found Sectn 3 of DOMA—the part of the 1996 law that fed marriage as a unn between one man and one woman—to be unnstutnal. Wdsor, nservative Jtice Anthony Kennedy sid wh Jtic Ruth Bar Gsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan favor of same-sex marriage rights, ultimately makg gay marriage legal across the natn June this time, was still outlawed only 13 stat, and more than 20 other untri had already legalized gay marriage, startg wh the Netherlands December 2000. " This has been "the gayt year gay history, " the words of Fred Saz, vice print of the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, and not only bee dividual stat and the U.

There have been substantive chang policy and personnel, wh Print Obama sentially doublg the number of openly gay dividuals who have served as feral judg and ambassadors. This year has also seen symbolic ton, cludg Obama enshrg the e of gays the civil rights pantheon his send gural addrs, and the first profsnal athlet major sports g out. Gays and lbians had once plaed about feelg visible, but as lns of dividuals have e out, they not only have ma their polil sir more tangible but also have won sympathetic alli among many straights.

GAY MARRIED UPLE FLEE RSIA AFTER RECEIVG ATH THREATS

Durg his first term, Obama sometim me across as a reluctant warrr on gay issu, takg his time to "evolve" his posn on marriage, his timg perhaps prodd by remarks om Vice Print Joe Bin. Obama had already been the rare natnal polician to e the word "we" when speakg of the gay rights e before announcg his support for same-sex marriage last year. In his gural addrs January, he referred the same breath to Stonewall, Selma and Sene Falls (rpectively, landmarks the stggl for rights for gays, Ain-Amerins and women).

Obama has been the "gays' LBJ, " says Jonathan Rch, a rint scholar at the Brookgs Instutn, parg the current print to Lyndon Johnson, who signed to law the Civil Rights and Votg Rights Acts of the 1960s.