US Supreme Court Rules in Favour of Gay Marriage

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/26/417717613/supreme-court-rules-all-states-must-allow-same-sex-marriages?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150626

Halle-effing-lujah!! About damn time.

This is a truly momentous day in American history.

Even though marriage for all couples has been legal (in various forms) in my hometown since 2009, I didn't know whether to cheer or cry when I checked the news this morning... so I did a little of both. I'm very happy that loving and committed couples can now make the decision to marry across the country.

Congratulations to those couples in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas, whose relationships will soon be recognized as valid and authentic under U.S. law.

My husband and I were fortunate to be able to get married (legally and with all of the Federal benefits) in 2013. Our wedding day was a significant moment in our lives, but it was also special because it brought together friends and family in a way that wouldn't have been possible otherwise (and even helped mend some hurt feelings and misunderstandings).

From my perspective, this ruling is about more than a basic legal agreement. When we look at the bigger picture, it is about bringing people together. Not just gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people... this extends to our children, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, parents, grandparents, and cousins. It is a step toward healthier bonds within the American family, and more importantly, it strengthens the bonds that connect all of us as a global family.

maybe this will become the land of the actually free!!

Well, that's neat. I still believe that the government should have no say when it comes to marriage, and that whatever benefits currently available to married couples (straight or otherwise) should be handled in a different legal fashion. Taxes should be handled, in my opinion, on an individual basis regardless of marriage; and other benefits could easily be handled in the same way that a will is handled, through legal documents put together by a hired lawyer. Marriage should be legally allowed between any two consenting adults, of course, but beyond that I don't think it's the government's place to say anything about it or provide any benefits or detriments based on marital status. For example, one partner has the right to make medical decisions for the other; this could easily be handled through other means (as stated before) and those other means would allow for a trusted group of family or friends to come to a decision based on the situation rather than one person. This is already in place in some areas in the form of patient advocates. Ultimately, however, this decision in the supreme court is a good one in my opinion.

Congrats America! Only took you ten years. lmao

#lovewins #loveislove #aboutdamntime

The Fourteenth Amendment, we'll remind you, was ratified shortly after the Civil War. It has to do with U.S. citizenship – and with providing equal protection for all citizens.

My argument in favour of gay marriage all along. Marriage is a government-controlled civil contract with pretty serious implications, defined by law. And that law is supposed to serve all citizens equally, and supply services to all equally. I've argued (with gay men, no less) against the distinction that gets made in some countries between marriage and gay marriage (civil partnership). Sure they tell you it's all supposed to be the same status and whatnot. But in reality you wouldn't tolerate white and nigger schools, or republicans sit at the front liberals at the back buses. So why do that for marriage?!

I wonder if in the EU, family-related treaty rights of citizens are respected in states which do not practice gay marriage? I *think* they're supposed to be, though I wonder how that actually works out?!

i dont think marriage is good for anyone lol but this is excellent - equality is a yes
i worked the hrc campaign some time around 04 and have been waiting for this since
GOD BLESS AMERICA!

I'm generally an open-minded person. I don't have a problem with other people's beliefs or behaviors since they usually have no effect on me. That being said, the marriage equality issue in the US being settled by the supreme court is something I have a problem with. Why? The supreme court does not write law. They completely circumvented the people of this country. Don't get me wrong, people are free to do as they please in the US as long as it's legal. But having no say in something that happens here is mildly insulting and robs us of our right to vote.

Homosexuality does not affect me. To that I will admit. That's not what bothers me. It's when things are decided for me that I am bothered.

Streen wrote: Why? The supreme court does not write law. They completely circumvented the people of this country.

The Supreme Court interprets Constitutional law. In this case, "the people of this country" were acting in unconstitutional ways. In case you have forgotten, the Constitution is the highest law in this nation, and any "law" that contradicts it is inherently illegal.

This decision was a long time coming, and long overdue. Now homosexuals can suffer right along with the rest of us.

i would not wish to make my boyfriend put up with me full time haha I am however very happy about it

Desolous wrote: This decision was a long time coming, and long overdue. Now homosexuals can suffer right along with the rest of us.

LOL Thank you for making light of this whole issue. That made me laugh

I am happy for those couples but that shouldnt take the time it took and the impact. ok gay couples can marry, and? People starve every day, people get sick around the world, situation in Ukraine and Russia, so much things the U.S could do as a big country they are, insted of waste money like crazy in weapons and wasting time in legalizing one thing that should be legal from the begining of the US. Countries in Europe have gay marriage legal it didnt appeared on Tv or 9gag or facebook. What i am saying is there are real problems in the world and that should get all the attention of the media and the people around the world.

Streen wrote: I'm generally an open-minded person. I don't have a problem with other people's beliefs or behaviors since they usually have no effect on me. That being said, the marriage equality issue in the US being settled by the supreme court is something I have a problem with. Why? The supreme court does not write law. They completely circumvented the people of this country. Don't get me wrong, people are free to do as they please in the US as long as it's legal. But having no say in something that happens here is mildly insulting and robs us of our right to vote.

Homosexuality does not affect me. To that I will admit. That's not what bothers me. It's when things are decided for me that I am bothered.

Honestly, people are stupid and shouldn't be allowed to vote on things that affect people in this way. There, I said it. People allow their little viewpoints and beliefs to rob others of their rights, and it's ridiculous. It was the same deal with interracial marriage. The Supreme Court had to make that legal because the people refused to due to their racist viewpoints, and because of those viewpoints, people in love were unable to express it in the same way as others who were just like them, just as much in love, but the same race.

I've said this in my Ethics class and I'll say it again: this issue is almost a mirror image of what happened back in 1967, and the only way it's ever going to end is in a Supreme Court ruling. Why did I think that? What could drive me to be so pessimistic about it? Well, it's religion. People are elected to high positions based off of their religious views, people vote with their religious views in mind, and people's viewpoints on certain issues like same-sex marriage are unlikely to change, no matter what intellectual appeal occurs due to these views. Believe me, I know. I've had a ton of debates and discussions on the subject. If you're in the North and everyone's more open-minded, that's fine, but what you fail to realize that in the bible-belt of the South, there's no way fair legislation will ever be passed legalizing such a thing. It would be more likely that I sprout wings and fly to Mars. When I tell people this, they would often reply "Well, why not move somewhere where it is legal? Why do they have to change it everywhere?" This is a stupid argument. Why should someone have to abandon their lives, their families and their friends just so they can have the same right as their next-door neighbor who just happens to be straight? The idea is absurd!

If someone's anti-homosexuality, or anti-gay marriage, and they are super-offended by the idea that this is a thing now, like some folks in South Carolina who are pitching a fit over it as we speak, good for them; here's a pro-tip: don't get gay-married if it's an offensive idea to you. That's the extent their beliefs should matter on the issue. I don't care what anyone's god says about it; it's not their right to infringe on mine, nor is it my right to infringe on theirs. I'm a straight married guy. I've felt extraordinarily guilty about the fact that I could just waltz into any place I wanted to and marry someone, but some of my friends couldn't. It's not fair, it's not just, and the idea that a popular vote should be the 'end-all' decider of all issues is not correct. Sometimes, we shouldn't have a say. I know that's about as Un-American as someone can get without burning a flag or something, but that's the way I feel.

Streen wrote: I'm generally an open-minded person. I don't have a problem with other people's beliefs or behaviors since they usually have no effect on me. That being said, the marriage equality issue in the US being settled by the supreme court is something I have a problem with. Why? The supreme court does not write law. They completely circumvented the people of this country. Don't get me wrong, people are free to do as they please in the US as long as it's legal. But having no say in something that happens here is mildly insulting and robs us of our right to vote.

Homosexuality does not affect me. To that I will admit. That's not what bothers me. It's when things are decided for me that I am bothered.

How do you feel about Citizens United v. FEC and the decision that struck down part of The Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder ? What about Loving v. Virginia ?

Streen wrote: I'm generally an open-minded person. I don't have a problem with other people's beliefs or behaviors since they usually have no effect on me. That being said, the marriage equality issue in the US being settled by the supreme court is something I have a problem with. Why? The supreme court does not write law. They completely circumvented the people of this country. Don't get me wrong, people are free to do as they please in the US as long as it's legal. But having no say in something that happens here is mildly insulting and robs us of our right to vote.

Homosexuality does not affect me. To that I will admit. That's not what bothers me. It's when things are decided for me that I am bothered.

Life decides things for us every day, yet railing against our realities will only leave us exhausted and demoralized. Adaptability is key to happiness.

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EDIT
hellisforhorses already said most of this - i hadnt read that post until after i made this one and im pretty much not adding anything but it is how i feel and i want to express it

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Streen wrote: But having no say in something that happens here is mildly insulting and robs us of our right to vote. It's when things are decided for me that I am bothered.

and this is the crux of the problem

gay people want to be able to decide for themselves if they are married and not have that issue decided for them by the votes of people who dont have anything to do with the relationship

anti gay people want to decide for themself that total strangers are not allowed to be married and then claim that their rights are being infringed on by those strangers

if you dont support gay marriage, then dont have one

your rights are not under attack at all

the ability to limit other peoples rights is what is "under attack" and rightly so

im not intending to be rude to you personally, i just feel it important to point out the inherently biased position here that many people take when they say something like "i should have the right to vote on someone elses marriage because if i dont get to deny their right to be married then my right to __ is being denied"

no

a straight persons rights are not being denied in any way by allowing gays to marry

this is just absurd

freedom means that we respect the fact that free people will use their freedom in ways we dont really like, and that we support their right to do so because we want to keep our own right to act in ways that others may not like

so we determine what is actually HARMFUL and what is not, and we say "anything on this side of the line needs to be left alone"

Being Gay myself, I was of course Overjoyed at the Supreme Courts decision. Now what disappoints me is that the individual states couldn't reach this simple revelation, that all humans are equal in the eyes of the law, by themselves. I joined Totjo because I want to feel and help others feel inclusivity ... and that's what most people want is to be included and have the same rights as any other person.
My partner and I are not going to jump on the marriage craze right now, Although I am glad it passed. What I want to know in the next Two years is how this will effect benefits, insurance, medicaid, and medicare. If it doesn't effect or positively effects our benefits then we will get married. If we can live with what it both grants and/or takes away, we will get married. We are both on disability and we can't afford to get married if we lose benefits because of bias state legislature. Ignorance yet Knowledge...Right.