With the Supreme Court striking down DOMA and the Prop 8 ban last week, Pride celebrations around the country were bound to involve more glitter than usual.
And while both cases were landmark rulings, the Supreme Court clearly set the boundaries between Federal and State jurisdiction.
On DOMA (United States v. Windsor), the opinion by Justice Kennedy stated: “DOMA’s principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal…DOMA contrives to deprive some couples married under the laws of their State, but not other couples, of both rights and responsibilities.” In short: this ruling gave same sex married couples access to over a thousand tax benefits available to hetero-couples. It also recognized bi-national same sex marriages – in one case, stopping the deportation of a bi-national gay couple the very next day!
In Hollingsworth vs. Perry, or the Prop 8 case to us non-law students, the court did not rule on whether same sex marriage in California was a civil right. Rather, they ruled on if the case had a right to be there in the first place. When Prop 8 was appealed in California, the state declined to defend it (following a precedent set by President Obama’s administration who stopped defending DOMA in 2011). From a there, a legal team funded by House Republicans picked up the banner. The Supreme Court ruled that they did not have legitimate standing to defend the law in court when the government decided not to, and let the lower court’s ruling – that Prop 8 was unconstitutional in California – stand.
While this wasn’t the sweeping ruling many were hoping for, it was the ruling many SCOTUS watchers and analysts expected: narrow. But it did serve to make gay marriage immediately legal once again in California, and set an important precedent for future gay marriage cases: non-state legal entities cannot defend state’s laws if the state declines to do so.
Human Rights Campaign’s Chad Griffin, made clear that these cases were big steps forward, but that much work still remains to be done. “We know that we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and get to work for those in the 37 states that didn’t get marriage equality today,” Griffin said in the immediate aftermath of the rulings. So while this may be the last you hear from the Supreme Court about same-sex marriage – at least for a little while – this is a fight not yet finished in the states.
Alright done with the history lesson. Now the fun stuff: PRIDE PARADES.
Pride celebrations have been a way for the LGBT community to express themselves and make their presence known in communities for decades. I am lucky enough to live in Chicago – known for being one of the country’s best locales for prideful parade fun – and was able to attend this past weekend’s celebration. And what more perfect timing for an all-out explosion of gay pride than on the wave of these rulings? Pride has always been about expression – and with so many colors, feathers, rainbows, and glitter – did I mention the glitter? – a picture really does more justice to the day than words. All I can say is you know it’s going to be a good day when it starts off with a rainbow-themed, mimosa-filled brunch.
Click through our slideshow below and or comment below with your own favorite Pride Parade moments!
By
Pope Francis: “Who am I to judge” gay priests | Sweet Lemon Magazine
[...] – both for those in the Church and those in the gay rights movement at large. June saw the SCOTUS overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied same-sex couples the same rights and benefits as afforded to heterosexual couples. [...]