The Obama administration came out forcefully Feb. 28 against California’s ban on same-sex “marriage” and, by extension, implicated similar bans in 37 other states.
In a brief to the Supreme Court, which will hear two landmark same-sex “marriage” cases in late March, the Department of Justice argued that gay and lesbian couples should have the same right to marry as heterosexuals.
The brief marks the first time the administration has weighed in on the constitutionality of any state ban on gay “marriage.” Although it was aimed at the voter initiative passed in California in 2008, it put the administration squarely against other such prohibitions.
In particular, the brief implicated the other states that, like California, allow domestic partnerships or civil unions: Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island.
“The designation of marriage … confers a special validation of the relationship between two individuals and conveys a message to society that domestic partnerships or civil unions cannot match,” the Obama administration’s brief states.
Polls have been shifting toward approval of gay “marriage.” In a December 2012 USA TODAY survey, 53 percent of Americans said same-sex couples deserve the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples, up from 40 percent in 2009.
(RNS)
Share with others: