Equality news round-up: Post marriage equality decision orders, and more
News on the states’ reactions to marriage equality, and more.
Continue 123 Comments June 30, 2015
Archives – June, 2015
Defending our Marriage Victory Won’t Be Easy
By Matt Baume
Did you have a nice weekend? Last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects marriage for everyone — including same-sex couples. It is a decision we have been waiting decades for. And now, all our work is, well, actually, not quite done yet. Let’s take a look at what the court just decided, and what comes next.
There are two huge wins in the Supreme Court decision: one is that the US Constitution guarantees equal protection when it comes to marriage for same-sex couples. That means that states can no longer refuse to let LGBTs marry. The second is that each state has to recognize licenses from every other state. This isn’t just a win for same-sex couples. And it’s not a loss for anyone. When the court upholds the Constitution, expanding equality and justice, everybody wins.
So, now what? Everyone’s still kind of figuring that out. Across the vast majority of the country, couples are getting married and having their existing marriages recognized. But we’re probably going to see a few isolated pockets of resistance. For example, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that clerks may be able to turn same-sex couples away. State officials also said that marriages shouldn’t start yet. But a lot of local clerks have were like, no, we’re starting now, and began issuing licenses right away.
Conflicts like that will probably keep popping up here and there for a while. Missouri’s looking at getting out of the marriage business altogether. North Carolina just passed a bill that lets officials refuse to issue licenses to all couples, gay and straight. Florida clerks have done the same, without waiting for a law making it legal for them to do so. There will be a couple places where people will still have to fight for the rights that the Constitution guarantees.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because the same thing happened in the 1950s when the Supreme Court ordered an end to segregated schools. Some places just closed their schools altogether, rather than integrate them. Kids literally had nowhere to go, because officials preferred to deprive everyone of their rights rather than extend those rights to a minority.
But that tactic didn’t last. With integration, as with marriage, the Supreme Court’s orders were very clear, and civil rights groups fought to have the schools re-opened so the long hard work of integration could move ahead. Over time, the same thing will happen with marriage, but it won’t happen by itself. There will still be parts of the country where couples will have to fight for Constitutionally guaranteed rights. We got the victory — now we need to defend it.
But now’s also a good time to step back, reflect, celebrate, and thank the millions of people who helped make history. This win is thanks in large part to pioneers who stood up for equality in the 70s, leaders like Andrew Sullivan and Evan Wolfson who expanded the conversation in the 80s, organizations like Lambda Legal and GLAD that fought for equality in the 90s, and the growing chorus of voices from the ACLU to NCLR and HRC in the 2000s. But of course it’s not just organizations that made this happen. Whether you marched in a parade, or held a sign, or talked to your family about why marriage matters, this win is also thanks to you.
Now you might be wondering what’s next for this show, Marriage News Watch? There’s still going to be marriage news to report, though it’ll be very different news from what it was before. We’re heading into a new world, and while there’s no telling exactly what’s going to happen, it’s definitely going to be exciting. So say tuned for more to come.
Thanks again so much for watching, sharing, liking, subscribing, and commenting on Marriage News Watch. Keep in touch, and I’ll see you next week.
136 Comments June 29, 2015
BREAKING: Supreme Court strikes down bans on same-sex marriage
States are required to license and recognize same-sex marriage.
Continue 453 Comments June 26, 2015
Jurors rule that “conversion therapy” is consumer fraud in JONAH case
LGBT ‘conversion therapy’ is consumer fraud.
Continue 134 Comments June 25, 2015
No marriage decision today from Supreme Court, but two progressive wins came down
Health care subsidies survived, and it just became easier to prove discrimination in housing.
Continue 56 Comments June 25, 2015
Equality news round-up: News on federal employees, and more
News from California and more.
Continue 136 Comments June 24, 2015
