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Created equal: Court rulings affirm gay marriage

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gay-equalityA pair of landmark 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court rulings handed down today have struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and affirmed the right of gay couples to marry in California.

In the decision on the DOMA law, Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, said the law “deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.” The effect of the ruling means that the federal government must recognize gay marriage in states where such marriages are deemed legal – 12 states plus the District of Columbia.

“There are more than 1,100 federal laws and programs where being married makes a difference-from tax laws, to eligibility for family medical leave, to social security survivor’s benefits, to access to health care for a spouse. With today’s ruling, the Supreme Court strikes down the very core of the Defense of Marriage Act, the last federal law on the books that explicitly mandates discrimination against LGBT people by the federal government simply because they are not heterosexual,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Claire G. Gastañaga in a statement.

“It is just and right that the Supreme Court has recognized that it is past time for our federal government to treat legally married LGBT couples no differently than it treats legally married heterosexual couples. With this decision, we are moving forward to a time when every person will have the freedom to marry the person they love and to have that marriage accorded the same legal status regardless of who they are. The ACLU of Virginia earnestly looks forward to that time and will continue to take action to achieve that goal,” Gastañaga said.

 

Reactions from across Virginia

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine:
“Today’s Supreme Court decisions are an enormous victory for thousands of committed couples and their families across the country and a major step toward marriage equality. In ruling the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, the Court has affirmed the principle that every legally married couple has the same right to equal benefits and responsibilities. I stand with same-sex couples and their loved ones in applauding the decision to affirm the equal treatment of all married couples under the law.”

Democratic Party gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe:
“I applaud the Supreme Court for their decision today because everyone should be treated equally.  While I support marriage equality, I understand that this is an issue that Virginians of goodwill come down on both sides of.   This decision moves our nation in the right direction, but there is more to be done to ensure we have equality for all. My opponent has spent his career putting up walls around Virginia and telling gay Virginians that they’re not welcome.   He even went so far as to order public colleges and universities to remove protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation for faculty and students.  We must make Virginia the best place in the world to live, work, and raise a family, and there is no place in our future for intolerance or discriminatory rhetoric.”

Statement from Brian Gottstein, spokesman for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli: “Virginia has followed the traditional definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman for more than 400 years, and Virginians voted overwhelmingly to add this traditional definition to their constitution.  The Supreme Court’s decision in California’s Proposition 8 case could have had implications for all states with marriage laws similar to California’s.  As the attorney general’s legal duty is to vigorously defend Virginia’s laws when they are challenged, he filed a brief with the Supreme Court in conjunction with several other states in the California case and used every available legal argument to defend Virginia’s Constitution and preserve the will of the citizens of the commonwealth. Today, the court’s two decisions on marriage make clear that the rulings have no effect on the Virginia Marriage Amendment or to any other Virginia law related to marriage. Consistent with the duties of the attorney general, this office will continue to defend challenges to the constitution and the laws of Virginia.”

Republican lieutenant governor candidate E.W. Jackson:
“The Defense of Marriage Act, which was passed by large majorities in Congress and signed into law by then President Bill Clinton, reinforces the rights of the people to hold to their traditional beliefs without the force of government undermining those beliefs. While the Supreme Court ruled today that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional, stating that it denied certain federal benefits to same-sex couples, much of DOMA appears to still be intact. I believe this ruling still upholds the right of the people of Virginia to hold to their traditional definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. This ruling still keeps in place the Virginia Marriage Amendment, which I support.”

Republican State Del. Bob Marshall:
“Justice Kennedy and his majority assume powers of clairvoyance when they claim DOMA supporters acted with malice ‘to disparage and to injure’ same-sex couples;  that they wanted to ‘demean’  homosexual couples and ‘impose inequality’ on them and to ‘impose . . . a stigma’ to deny ‘equal dignity’ and to render homosexuals as ‘unworthy’ and to ‘humiliate’ their children. But these DOMA tax and other federal benefits which applied only to persons  in a traditional marriage did not apply to single persons.  Did DOMA therefore demean, humiliate, and deny dignity to those single people?  No, of course not! Justice Kennedy and his majority rely on the Fifth Amendment to reach their twisted conclusion. ‘… the principal purpose and the necessary effect of this law are to demean those persons who are in a lawful same-sex marriage. This requires the Court to hold … that DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the liberty of the person protected by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.”

Democratic Party of Virginia Chair Delegate Charniele Herring:
“I’m pleased with today’s decision. DOMA was truly an unjust law that contradicted the American belief that all people are created equal. I am hopeful that the Court’s decision will continue the great progress we’ve made toward fairness and that we continue to expand equal rights and opportunities for all Americans.”

Virginia Organizing Chairperson Sandra A. Cook:
“Virginia Organizing is extremely pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court voted to protect the federal benefits of all people lawfully married. The Supreme Court is responsible for protecting the constitutional rights of every person, and today, the justices made it clear that the federal government may not infringe on the rights of same-sex married couples to receive the same protections and benefits as opposite-sex married couples. Although this is a victory in the movement toward marriage equality, Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage continues to trample the rights of Virginians. The people of our nation are ready to move forward with equality and we call on Virginia’s lawmakers to end the discrimination against same-sex couples’ right to marry. Virginia Organizing will continue to work for equality of all people and fight against policies that discriminate against any class of individuals.”

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