VICTORY! LAW OF THE LAND!

Same-Sex Marriage Is a Right, Supreme Court Rules, 5-4
By ADAM LIPTAKJUNE 26, 2015  NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON — In a long-sought victory for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Constitution guarantees a nationwide right to same-sex marriage.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion in the 5 to 4 decision. He was joined by the court’s four more liberal justices.

The decision, the culmination of decades of litigation and activism, came against the backdrop of fast-moving changes in public opinion, with polls indicating that most Americans now approve of same-sex marriage.

Justice Kennedy said gay and lesbian couples have a fundamental right to marry.

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family,” he wrote. “In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.”

“It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage,” Justice Kennedy said of the couples challenging state bans on same-sex marriage. “Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., in a dissent joined by Justice Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, said the Constitution has nothing to say on the subject.

“If you are among the many Americans — of whatever sexual orientation — who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today’s decision,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote. “Celebrate the achievement of a desired goal. Celebrate the opportunity for a new expression of commitment to a partner. Celebrate the availability of new benefits. But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it.”

In a second dissent, Justice Scalia mocked Justice Kennedy’s soaring language.

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SCOTUS SENDS IT BACK

Stunning SCOTUS Move Widens Same-Sex Marriage To 30 States

by NINA TOTENBERG
October 06, 2014 5:40 PM ET
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In a stunning move, the U.S. Supreme Court Monday stepped out of the gay-marriage debate — at least for now. It refused to review lower court decisions that struck down state bans on same-sex marriage; but the decision not to decide will nevertheless have an immediate and dramatic effect, bringing the total number of states where gay marriage is legal up to 30.

Without saying or writing a word, the justices let stand three appeals court decisions, covering parts of the South, Midwest and West. That means that same-sex couples will now be able to marry in 11 more states: Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Add those 11 states to the 19 states that already allow gay marriage, and you have 30 states where such unions are legal.

Thousands more same-sex couples are expected to begin marrying immediately. In Virginia, for instance, the state began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples just hours after the Supreme Court's action.

Of course, some appeals courts could, this year or next, uphold a same-sex-marriage ban. Were that to happen, the Supreme Court would very likely have to resolve the conflicting decisions. There are a number of other same-sex-marriage cases in the pipeline. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, covering the far West and Northwest, and the 6th Circuit, covering parts of the Midwest, have both heard arguments in cases that challenge state bans on same-sex marriage, and a decision in either case could be in the offing. Two other circuits are poised to hear challenges to district court decisions striking down gay-marriage bans in Texas and Florida.

But by the time any of these cases reaches the Supreme Court, there are likely to be tens of thousands more same-sex couples married in the 11 states where the Supreme Court declined to intervene on Monday. And it's hard to imagine the justices then telling those married couples that they are not married after all. Gay-marriage opponents, who were largely silent on Monday, conceded privately that there would be "chaos" if the high court later decides to backtrack.

"The Supreme Court justices are very smart people. I don't think they're going to be able to put the genie back in the bottle," said Amy Howe, editor of the leading Supreme Court blog, SCOTUSBlog. Howe said that the message to the lower courts may be "grudging," but it's pretty clear: "Keep on doing what you're doing. We may not be ready to proclaim a national constitutional right to same-sex marriage, but we're not going to stop you from doing it on a state-by-state basis."

Some in the gay community, like Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, had hoped for more. "It's not a done deal until it's done," he said, adding that Freedom to Marry and other organizations will "keep making the case that every day matters and couples shouldn't have to fight state by state, or year by year for the freedom to marry."

Others, however, saw the court's action as a huge victory. "I think that today is one of the greatest days in the history of lesbian and gay rights in the United States," said David Codell, constitutional litigation director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Indeed, the Supreme Court's action, or more precisely, its inaction, is likely to put greater pressure on the 20 remaining states where gay marriage is not legal. Already gay marriage is legal in areas accounting for 60 percent of the American population. And at least some of the cases in the pipeline are likely to boost that number still further.

DAY IN COURT

Octogenarian lesbian widow gets her day in Supreme Court

(Reuters) - Gay marriage supporters in front of the Supreme Court only wanted to see one celebrity on Wednesday.

As Edith Windsor walked out of the court after arguments in her case challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, a huge roar erupted from hundreds of protesters gathered on the steps.

"Edie! Edie!" they chanted as the diminutive 83-year-old laughed and blew kisses to the crowd.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/27/us-usa-court-gaymarriage-windsor-idUSBRE92Q15G20130327