[The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the Alligator.]
On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati upheld decisions by Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky to prohibit same-sex marriage in those states. The 2-1 ruling comes as a surprise and goes against the recent cases concerning marriage equality that have been decided in recent months. By not striking down the same-sex marriage bans, the judges have opted to err on the side of discrimination and injustice.
A lot of people believe that, following this decision, the issue of marriage equality will once again make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court managed to evade taking a definitive stance on the topic. Instead, they deferred to a lower court ruling that granted marriage equality to 11 additional states. Since then, federal courts have been ruling in favor of marriage equality in case after case, resulting in 32 states plus Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Missouri, granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry.
If the topic of marriage equality makes its way back to the Supreme Court, the justices would be doing our nation a huge favor by making the final decision to implement marriage equality in all U.S. states and territories.
A Gallup poll published in May 2014 stated that 55 percent of Americans support laws “recognizing same-sex marriages as legally valid.” In recent years, that question has been posed to respondents, and the percentage points have been higher. The clear trend here is that our country is becoming more receptive to the idea of marriage equality for all.
The Supreme Court would do a great disservice to our nation by prolonging these efforts for equality once again if they decided to leave the decision of whether to permit and recognize same-sex marriages up to individual states.
Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey was the dissenter of the 2-1 decision. In her dissenting opinion, she wrote that same-sex marriage is not just a political issue but is instead about people — something many of those opposed to marriage equality fail to remember — and that people are “suffering actual harm as a result of being denied the right to marry where they reside.”
These court rulings may just seem like lofty, abstract news headlines, but these decisions have real life effects on actual people. A couple’s ability to marry decides whether they can stake claim to all of the benefits that come with marriage.
It is unfair that heterosexual couples can reap these benefits with no contest, as if marriage is a straight-only birthright, while queer couples must fight for their right to marry through lengthy legal processes that cost time and money. In order for us to have a fair society, all members must be able to access the same beneficial avenues. That includes marriage.
This isn’t just about having the right to openly love whomever you want. It’s about having the right to not be disenfranchised by society because of your identity.
The government has a duty to its citizens to protect us all from that disenfranchisement, and that is why the Supreme Court has a duty to stop beating around the bush and rule once and for all that all adults of sound mind and consenting age should have the right to marry whomever they want, regardless of sex or gender.
Leaving a decision like this in the hands of the states will only delay America in its journey to equality for all people.
TehQuin Forbes is a UF sociology junior. His columns appear on Mondays.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 11/10/2014]
