by Jerry Curtis

Created on: May 23, 2007   Last Updated: January 19, 2009

The Federal Government has no business in regulating civil matters such as marriage, unless it is for the purpose of resolving conflicts between states and citizens of different states. There is absolutely no Constitutional authority that even intimates that our federal government should get anywhere near this issue.

The principle of the states' sovereignty is established by the 10th Amendment of our Constitution. Provided the laws passed by a state are not in conflict with the Federal Constitution, each state has the privilege of passing laws that are appropriate to their unique circumstances. For example, gun ownership laws of Texas may be less stringent that the gun laws of Massachusetts. Also, everyone knows that the marriage laws of Nevada are a bit looser than, say, New York.

Tangential to this issue is the controversy over a state's barring people of the same sex from marriage in the first place is actually denying a civil right and therefore Unconstitutional. Proponents argue that no special legislation is needed to allow gays to marry, since marriage is an inherent right of adults. Courts have ruled otherwise. For example, an October article in the "San Francisco Chronicle" at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/200 6/10/05/BAG4KLJAF24.DTL reads, in part:

"Gays and lesbians have no constitutional right to marry in California, and any change giving them that right must come from state lawmakers or the voters rather than the legal system, a state appeals court declared Thursday."

While gay activists would rather have a court ruling reinforcing their perceived "right" to marriage, for the time being, most state courts have preferred to leave the issue up to the legislatures. Also, the right of one state to deny recognition of gay marriage status to a couple "married" in another state has also been upheld by Federal Law.

States should continue to exercise their prerogatives in this sensitive area. Federal intrusion in this area is both unconstitutional and largely unwanted.

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