SUPREME COURT & DOMA
Posted on- April 8, 2013 at 11:10 P.M.
(Written By Joshua Hill)
If you have been listening to the news lately, you might have heard that the Supreme Court is going to make a decision whether or not to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). For those of you who don't know, DOMA was enacted September 21, 1996, & is a United States federal law that restricts federal marriage benefits. It is required that interstate marriage recognition only opposite same-sex marriages in the United States. The law passed both Houses of Congress by large majorities, & was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Section three of DOMA codifies the non-recognition of same sex-marriages for all federal purposes, including insurance benefits for Government employees, Social Security survivors' benefits, immigration, & the filing of joint tax returns.
Recently DOMA has been found unconstitutional in eight federal courts, including the First & Second Circuit Court of Appeals. These issues included bankruptcy, public employee benefits, estate taxes, & immigration. The U.S. Supreme Court has heard an appeal in one of those cases, “United States, vs. Windsor’’, with oral arguments that started on March 27, 2013.
The arguments against DOMA are the same homophobic stances we always get from the right. Mainly, "it's not within christian morals’’. Although, when you take the ridiculous religious arguments out of the equation the, Right-Wing is usually left with, "If you change the definition of traditional marriage, then where is the line? Why not have bestiality & pedophilia be legal?" The definition of marriage has been constantly changing throughout history. However, even with that said, I will give you the answer right now to that Right-Wing ridiculous question. The obvious difference lies with the consent, & that fact that you have two consenting adults. The problem with bestiality is that an animal is unable to articulate their thoughts with a developed mind to use some form of language of communition, therefore unable to give proper consent. The problem with pedophilia is that a child's mind has not yet fully developed, & just like the animal, the child also can not give the proper consent.
The issue with the Conservative argument is that they give unrelated extreme situations. Then proceed to compare it to something that should be an unrelated non-issue using a straw man argument. That's not to say everyone on the Supreme Court uses these overly ridiculous arguments. Some make good cases to overturn DOMA within the supreme court, such as Justice. Elena Kagan who made a great point stating, "The entire point of DOMA was, "Collective moral judgement & to express moral disapproval of homosexuality."
So for anyone to say, (Even If What You Are Does Not Harm Anyone Else) "I morally disapprove of your sexual orientation you were born with, & I will now take away your rights because of who you are. " It is ultimately the definition of discrimination & makes DOMA unconstitutional, not just in my personal opinion, but hopefully also in the eyes of the Supreme Court as well.
If you have been listening to the news lately, you might have heard that the Supreme Court is going to make a decision whether or not to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). For those of you who don't know, DOMA was enacted September 21, 1996, & is a United States federal law that restricts federal marriage benefits. It is required that interstate marriage recognition only opposite same-sex marriages in the United States. The law passed both Houses of Congress by large majorities, & was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Section three of DOMA codifies the non-recognition of same sex-marriages for all federal purposes, including insurance benefits for Government employees, Social Security survivors' benefits, immigration, & the filing of joint tax returns.
Recently DOMA has been found unconstitutional in eight federal courts, including the First & Second Circuit Court of Appeals. These issues included bankruptcy, public employee benefits, estate taxes, & immigration. The U.S. Supreme Court has heard an appeal in one of those cases, “United States, vs. Windsor’’, with oral arguments that started on March 27, 2013.
The arguments against DOMA are the same homophobic stances we always get from the right. Mainly, "it's not within christian morals’’. Although, when you take the ridiculous religious arguments out of the equation the, Right-Wing is usually left with, "If you change the definition of traditional marriage, then where is the line? Why not have bestiality & pedophilia be legal?" The definition of marriage has been constantly changing throughout history. However, even with that said, I will give you the answer right now to that Right-Wing ridiculous question. The obvious difference lies with the consent, & that fact that you have two consenting adults. The problem with bestiality is that an animal is unable to articulate their thoughts with a developed mind to use some form of language of communition, therefore unable to give proper consent. The problem with pedophilia is that a child's mind has not yet fully developed, & just like the animal, the child also can not give the proper consent.
The issue with the Conservative argument is that they give unrelated extreme situations. Then proceed to compare it to something that should be an unrelated non-issue using a straw man argument. That's not to say everyone on the Supreme Court uses these overly ridiculous arguments. Some make good cases to overturn DOMA within the supreme court, such as Justice. Elena Kagan who made a great point stating, "The entire point of DOMA was, "Collective moral judgement & to express moral disapproval of homosexuality."
So for anyone to say, (Even If What You Are Does Not Harm Anyone Else) "I morally disapprove of your sexual orientation you were born with, & I will now take away your rights because of who you are. " It is ultimately the definition of discrimination & makes DOMA unconstitutional, not just in my personal opinion, but hopefully also in the eyes of the Supreme Court as well.