Friday, June 28, 2013

DOMA - Ripples of Supreme Court Decision

"Federal Agencies Move to Comply With Supreme Court Ruling on DOMA" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 6/27/2013

Excerpt

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour):  And now the day after, as we look at the practical and political implications of the Supreme Court's pair of rulings on gay marriage.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:  We believe in basic fairness.

JEFFREY BROWN:  In Senegal today, the president again praised the Supreme Court decision that struck down a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act.  The provision had denied federal benefits to same-sex couples.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  What I think yesterday's ruling signifies is one more step towards ensuring that those basic principles apply to everybody.

JEFFREY BROWN:  And as celebrations broke out in some parts of the country yesterday, the heads of several federal agencies welcomed the decision and said they'd move quickly to comply.

But the president noted that both inside and outside of the executive branch, that could be tricky.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  But you still have a whole bunch of states that do not recognize it.  It's my personal belief -- but I'm speaking now as a president, as opposed as a lawyer -- that if you have been married in Massachusetts, and you move someplace else, you're still married.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Across the nation, either through the courts or the ballot box, 13 states and the District of Columbia have moved to recognize gay marriage.

Meanwhile, 35 others have either state laws or constitutional amendments restricting marriage to one man and one woman.  A host of other states have laws either permitting or denying civil unions and benefits.

And just today, the Supreme Court declined to take up two state marriage cases, one involving a ban on gay marriage in Nevada and another involving an Arizona law that denies benefits to same-sex partners.


"New Battlegrounds Ahead in Fight Over Same-Sex Marriage" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 6/27/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A day after the high court released rulings on gay marriage, Jeffrey Brown talks to Winnie Stachelberg of the Center for American Progress to learn how it will impact federal benefits for same-sex couples.  Then New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Rep.  Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., join him to discuss political implications.


COMMENT:  The super-conservative view is just wrong.
  • Gay marriage has NO effect on other marriages
  • Government (local, state, federal) involvement in marriage has nothing to do with child-rearing, marriage is a SOCIAL CONTRACT that effects inheritance and benefits which is the historical reason for the creation of formal marriage with licenses
  • The rational of the anti-gay movement has its foundation in religious belief, and anti-gay-marriage laws are really about one religious group trying to use the law-of-the-land to impose their religious belief on everyone else, a clear violation of Freedom of Religion

No comments: