by Alexa Gagosz
Many are saying that the Supreme Court’s decision to not review same-sex marriage rulings has “lit a fuse to a powder keg culturally that is going to have ramifications for years to come in this nation,” as gay-marriage opponent Tony Perkins said in The Washington Post.
Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin have all lifted their bans on same-sex marriage and within hours, there were couples applying for marriage licenses, according to CNN, and refusing to hear the lawsuits from several others.
Even with the happy couples across these five states, the Supreme Court also refused to get involved with any other state in lifting the ban. But the court should know that by not getting involved, they are still getting involved to a degree.
North Carolina legalized gay marriage on Oct. 10. Colorado, South Carolina, Kansas, West Virginia, and Wyoming may soon have to lift their bans, CNN reported. If this happens, the number of states that allow same sex-marriage will jump from 19 to 30. For some, the question still stands if gay couples will have the same equal and due process opportunity for marriage that straight couples do.
Just hours after the word from the high court came to Utah, Governor Gary Herbert was apparently surprised, and commented on how unfortunate it was that there wasn’t a finality on the matter and that they had to move forward, according to CNN.
Yes, even though there will eventually be a final ruling down the road to look at the constitution, maybe in the next year or two according to CNN, that also means they are not yet ready to jump into debate at this time. The Supreme Court believes “the federal Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage on a federal level as a union between one man and one woman, is unconstitutional,” according to the SCOTUS Blog.
I believe there shouldn’t be this delay of political debate; it should just be jumped into immediately, and dealt with, especially in the 21st century.
Some traditional conservatives say that the high court should stay out of the same-sex debate, saying that it is for the states to decide. Why is it that the conservatives of this country feel the need to refuse the thought of inequality? The traditional standard of one-man/one-woman of wedlock, and no other idea, should be thought of as out of the question.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who supported the lift of the ban on same-sex marriage, told CNN reporters, “a new day has dawned, and the rights guaranteed by our Constitution are shining through.”
As the first attorney general to speak up on the matter, it’s liberating to know that the political supporters are finally commenting on the issue instead of siding with the correct side of the political spectrum.
With the high court refusing to rule the decision for any other states, it’s going to be merely impossible to get closer to that political debate on the constitution as well as moving forward in this thought of “liberating marriage.”
With FOX News attempting to keep their voices and conservative thinking out of this argument, they still argue the fact that the Supreme Court ruling, without the thought of the states, is known as “judicial tyranny.” Republicans beg for the states ruling the order, yet that’s how absolutely nothing gets done.
The Supreme Court is taking small measures in order to lift the ban of same-sex marriage, but small steps is just not enough. In the 21st century, the United States should be lifting the ban in all 50 states, taking initiative for this ever changing and liberating society in order to cater to the rights to all.
