7 October 2014 - Supreme Court clears way for gay marriage
Supreme Court's surprise move opens door to gay marriage in 30 states
Staff (The Chicago Tribune)
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to decide once and for all whether states can ban gay marriage, a surprising move that will allow gay men and women to get married in five additional states, with more likely to follow quickly.
On the first day of its new term, the high court without comment rejected appeals in cases involving five states - Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin and Indiana - that had prohibited gay marriage, leaving intact lower-court rulings striking down those bans.
As a result, the number of states permitting gay marriage would jump from 19 to 24, likely soon to be followed by six more states that are bound by the regional federal appeals court rulings that had struck down other bans. That would leave another 20 states that prohibit same-sex marriage.
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Opposition
Kevin Johnson (USA Today)
WASHINGTON — Opponents of same-sex marriage expressed collective disappointment Monday in the Supreme Court's decision to deny appeals from five states seeking to ban gay unions.
"It doesn't make any sense,'' said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage. "The court is simply allowing lower courts to dictate the future of marriage, and that's wrong.''
Brown, who characterized the court action as both "puzzling and disappointing,'' said the decision "only makes clear the need for a constitutional amendment'' to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
"It doesn't mean that it is over,'' he said.
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Explained
Ariane de Vogue (ABC News)
The decision means that, for now, the Supreme Court has sent the message it doesn’t want to step into the debate regarding gay marriage. It also means that same sex couples in Indiana, Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma and Wisconsin will be able to marry in short order.
Ted Olson, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the challenge to the Virginia’s gay marriage ban, called the Court’s decision “a momentous victory for the constitutional promise of equality, dignity and justice for all Americans.”
“Today, I am proud to call myself a Virginian. With the Commonwealth’s discriminatory marriage ban finally and conclusively struck down, we are one giant step closer to the day that all Americans, not just Virginians, can enjoy their right to marriage equality under the law,” he said.
The 16-year-old daughter of plaintiffs Carol Schall and Mary Townley also issued a statement: "I am so thankful that other children like me can finally hold their heads high knowing their families matter and are finally equal. I cannot wait for the day that all American kids, no matter where they live and no matter who their parents are, are treated equally.”
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Game over
Chris Cillizza (The Washington Post)
The Supreme Court's refusal to take up challenges to laws legalizing gay marriage in five states has an immediate impact: Gay couples in those states can now wed. But it has a longer-term impact too; it's another piece of evidence that the fight over gay marriage is effectively over in this country.
Politically speaking, this has been true for some time — a reality largely due to a massive shift in public opinion on the issue, which occurred in late 2011 and accelerated over the intervening years.
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"7 October 2014 - Supreme Court clears way for gay marriage", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), juillet 2014. Consulté le 06/10/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/key-story/archives-revue-de-presse-2014/7-october-2014-supreme-court-clears-way-for-gay-marriage