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Same-Sex Marriage Bans and the United States Constitution
16 years ago
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California's Proposition 8 is in Federal court right now in a two week trial that will decide whether voters have the right to take rights away from a minority, or if same-sex marriage bans violate the United States Constitution. Those who take our Supreme Law of the Land to heart know that it is there to protect the rights of a minority among other things. After looking into same-sex marriage bans, I have found that they violate the United States Constitution, and must be struck down at all costs.
Part of Article 4, Section 1 states, "Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof." Now, we know that if we get married in one state and move to another, we don't have to marry again, because of this clause. However, if a gay couple gets married, their marriage is not recognised in all states. This violates Full Faith and Credit, and thus the law is Unconstitutional.
Part of Article 6 reads, "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." Obviously, this says that the US Constituion is the highest law in America, and no other laws can violate it. Unfortunately, many groups are attacking the Supremacy Clause by trying to write discrimination into state laws. State same-sex marriage bans violate the US Constitution, and thus are null and void.
The 1st Amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." This amendment has set the standard for the Separation between Church and State. When the first pilgrims came to America, they sought religious freedom. They did not believe in the Church of England, and so were outcasts. When our Founding Fathers made our great country, they wrote this Amendment to make sure that the government would not become what we broke free from. Passing a law using religious justification, like Proposition 8, is a direct attack on our nation's very foundations. Religious extremists are seeking to turn America into a theocracy, saying America is a "Christian Nation." The moment America is a "Christian Nation" is the very monent our nation is no longer the United States of America.
The 9th Amendment reads, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." The argument that "marriage isn't in the Constitution so it's not a right" holds no ground because of this Amendment. Obviously, the framers couldn't list every human right, so they left it open. In the US Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, marriage was determined to be a fundimental right.
The 10th Amendment reads, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This Amendment gives States powers not delegated to the Federal government. However, the clause "nor prohibited by it to the states" means that if the Constitution says no, then it's no, period, and States cannot violate the US Constitution. State same-sex marriage bans overstep the powers granted to States, and is therefore Unconstitutional.
The 14th Amendment reads, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This is a big one. Same-sex marriage bans deny Americans equal protection of the law. It also clearly says, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." This means that states cannot pass laws like California's Proposition 8.
If your state is contemplating banning same-sex marriage, write to your Congressman and tell your friends and family that same-sex marriage bans violate the United States Constitution and must not be allowed to become law. The United States Constitution must be protected from any and all attacks on it.
Part of Article 4, Section 1 states, "Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof." Now, we know that if we get married in one state and move to another, we don't have to marry again, because of this clause. However, if a gay couple gets married, their marriage is not recognised in all states. This violates Full Faith and Credit, and thus the law is Unconstitutional.
Part of Article 6 reads, "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." Obviously, this says that the US Constituion is the highest law in America, and no other laws can violate it. Unfortunately, many groups are attacking the Supremacy Clause by trying to write discrimination into state laws. State same-sex marriage bans violate the US Constitution, and thus are null and void.
The 1st Amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." This amendment has set the standard for the Separation between Church and State. When the first pilgrims came to America, they sought religious freedom. They did not believe in the Church of England, and so were outcasts. When our Founding Fathers made our great country, they wrote this Amendment to make sure that the government would not become what we broke free from. Passing a law using religious justification, like Proposition 8, is a direct attack on our nation's very foundations. Religious extremists are seeking to turn America into a theocracy, saying America is a "Christian Nation." The moment America is a "Christian Nation" is the very monent our nation is no longer the United States of America.
The 9th Amendment reads, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." The argument that "marriage isn't in the Constitution so it's not a right" holds no ground because of this Amendment. Obviously, the framers couldn't list every human right, so they left it open. In the US Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, marriage was determined to be a fundimental right.
The 10th Amendment reads, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This Amendment gives States powers not delegated to the Federal government. However, the clause "nor prohibited by it to the states" means that if the Constitution says no, then it's no, period, and States cannot violate the US Constitution. State same-sex marriage bans overstep the powers granted to States, and is therefore Unconstitutional.
The 14th Amendment reads, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This is a big one. Same-sex marriage bans deny Americans equal protection of the law. It also clearly says, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." This means that states cannot pass laws like California's Proposition 8.
If your state is contemplating banning same-sex marriage, write to your Congressman and tell your friends and family that same-sex marriage bans violate the United States Constitution and must not be allowed to become law. The United States Constitution must be protected from any and all attacks on it.
The 10th Amendment gives rights to the states, but the phrase "nor prohibited by it to the states" means that states are limited in power by the Constitution and cannot violate it.
I also never mentioned the 4th Amendment, so that's misreading on your part.
Also, it doesn't have to define marriage. The simple fact that Prop 8 denies a right to a minority because of their gender is discrimination, and as such, it is Unconstitutional.
Finally, you're wrong there. Do some research. They have been used, and are taken very seriously. Unless you mean to say the Bill of Rights is useles...
And yes, it does have to define marriage, as traditionally it's been defined as between a man and a woman. They would first have to change that definition.
And lastly, they have been used but they've been used as a primary defense comparatively rarely and are obviously not upheld by the congress without a gun to their head.
Some people are still stuck in 1972.
A friend of mine said this the other day while discussing homosexual marriage and "offenses":
"Decriminalize it, you live your life, and don't interfere with mine - I will fuck your mother if she wants my penis bad enough, yanno? Do this with weed as well - it's a fucking plant that just so happens to contain a little substance called THC which makes you high. No different than the opiate found in poppy seeds, which countless thousands eat on bagels every damn day...or the salvinorin-A in Salvia. These still aren't illegal. Imagine if we were to be running around saying "OMG Dave is hitting the hibiscus! Rarararara!" I mean, come on! George Carlin had it right...legalize it, tax it, sell it, and use the money to balance the fuckin' budget. Oh, back on the other subject...to quote the Wolfenden report from 1957 about a new law that was about to go into effect in England..."The law's function is to preserve public order and decency, to protect the citizen from what is offensive or injurious, and to provide sufficient safeguards against exploitation and corruption of others ... It is not, in our view, the function of the law to intervene in the private life of citizens, or to seek to enforce any particular pattern of behaviour." Fast forward to 1973, and you got the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders removing it from there...they thought it was a fuckin' mental disorder to be gay! Get with the program already...it's 2010. I've had about enough of these indoctrinated children of the Silent Generation pushing me around. It's time for the Echo Boomers to take their stand, and for equality to really mean equality."
Eh...couldn't have said it better.