by Jordan St. Claire

Created on: February 14, 2007   Last Updated: January 19, 2009

Gay Marriage is Legal

When Massachusetts legalized Gay Marriage as a right stating, by Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, "Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society. For those who choose to marry, and for their children, marriage provides an abundance of legal, financial and social benefits. In return it imposes weighty legal, financial, and social obligations,"(1) it provided a Constitutional basis for the establishment of Gay Marriage in all 50 states.

Hawaiian Courts are also debating the issue as did Massachusetts and the Supreme Court there has all but given its blessing to same-sex marriage.

Equal Protection Clause Language
United States Constitution, Amendment XIV, Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The Massachusetts decision did limit gay marriage to its citizens but the Full Faith & Credit Clause of the United States Constitution extended it to all 50 states: "Article IV, Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof."

In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court stated, "that voting is a "fundamental right" on the same plane as marriage." (2) This case was in 1967 under Chief Justice Warren. The case was about voting rights but established a Constitutional Precedent for Gay Marriage; however, it does establish a basis for a U.S. Supreme Court case.

The simple legal fact is that the Civil Rights Acts have charmed the issue to point that Gay Marriage that may have not been intended by Congress but was interpreted as such by the Warren Court.

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is the commonly-used name of a federal law of the United States that is officially known as Pub. L. No. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419 (Sept. 21, 1996) and codified at 1

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>