50-state Rally Shows Record Support for Same-Sex Marriage
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Related subjects: Denver Lessing, Gender Equality, Legislation, Rights & Freedoms, U.S. Politics, Vote 2008 Comments (1)
Since California voted to ban same-sex marriage —legal there since a state supreme court ruling finding in favor of gay marriage rights on constitutional grounds— on 4 November, there have been daily demonstrations against the ban. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed his hope that the ban will be overturned or repealed. On Saturday, 11 days after the ban was voted in by referendum, a nationwide rally for same-sex marriage rights achieved unprecedented numbers, with a presence in all 50 states.
On Saturday, speakers painted the fight over Proposition 8 as another test of a movement that began with the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York in 1969, survived the emergence of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and has since made enormous strides in societal acceptance, whether in television shows or in antidiscrimination laws.
It is estimated that between 4,000 and 8,000 people gathered at a protest in front of New York’s City Hall, demanding action in support of gay rights. Protesters reminded proponents of the ban that the issue is not about the “definition” of the word marriage, but about the 1,400 legal rights attached to having married status, rights denied to lifelong gay couples in most states.
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In Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told a crowd of 9,000 he believes the ban will be overturned. It currently faces court challenges, and there is a movement to amend the state constitution to specifically provide for same-sex marriage rights. Some proponents have noted that the US Constitution implicitly bars states from creating such bans, specifically:
- The 9th Amendment to the US Constitution provides that “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”, which can be interpreted to mean that the absence of provisions for same-sex marriage cannot override the 14th Amendment’s provisions for unalienable rights and equal protection;
- The 14th Amendment requires that: “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”
At present, only Massachusetts and Connecticut openly provide same-sex marriage, though California married 18,000 couples prior to the ban, and some marriages were certified in New York and New Jersey in 2004, when the nationwide debate was gaining momentum. Many of those attending Saturday’s rallies describe themselves as heterosexual citizens concerned about the precedent of using referenda to deprive fellow citizens of rights already granted, as was the case in California’s Proposition 8.
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[...] 50-state Rally Shows Record Support for Same-Sex Marriage Since California voted to ban same-sex marriage —legal there since a state supreme court ruling finding in favor of gay marriage rights on constitutional grounds— on 4 November, there have been daily demonstrations against the ban. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed his hope that the ban will be overturned or repealed. On Saturday, 11 days after the ban was voted in by referendum, a nationwide rally for same-sex marriage rights achieved unprecedented numbers, with a presence in all 50 stat [...]