Whats wrong with gay marriage

The U. Senate passed landmark legislation this week enshrining protections for same sex and interracial marriages in federal law in a bipartisan vote that marked a dramatic turnaround on a once highly divisive issue. The Senate action marks a major hurdle for the legislation, which President Biden has said he will sign into law pending a vote in the House of Representatives.

Leonore F. What exactly does the Respect for Marriage Act do to protect same-sex marriage? First, it repeals the federal Defense of Marriage Act. It also gave the green light to states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. Next, it prohibits states from refusing to recognize same-sex marriages that are validly entered into in a different state.

This law takes the federal government out of the business of deciding what marriages are valid by making a general rule that if a marriage was valid in the state it was entered into, the federal government will recognize it. Are there any shortcomings in the legislation?

How is same-sex marriage in the US changing?

Hodges, states currently have to do that because the Supreme Court decided that not issuing those licenses violates the U. Less than 30 years ago Congress passed legislation barring federal recognition of same-sex marriage and the Whats wrong with gay marriage Court ruled just seven years ago there was a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

How did opinion change so fast with Congress now enshrining federal protection into law? As far back as the early s there were even a couple of cases brought earlier than thatadvocates brought lawsuits in state courts, trying to use state constitutional theories to incrementally expand access to relationship recognition.

And at the same time, those advocates really worked hard to help the public understand that many LGBTQ people wanted the same stable, legally recognized and hopefully lifelong relationships that so many straight people have always sought and benefitted from.

This was a real surprise to large segments of the population, who had been indoctrinated to believe that LGBTQ people are inherently mentally ill, incapable of maintaining stable relationships and disinterested in raising families. Once Americans realized that huge percentages of the LGBTQ population wanted and were capable of maintaining stable families, and once they were actually able to see those couples get married as a result of that state-based litigation, minds changed fairly quickly.

How long do you think it will take for the federal government to take similar action on reproductive rights? So much is in flux politically right now that I think anyone who tries to make that kind of prediction stands a high likelihood of being really wrong. So, I think that for now, many members of Congress are nervous about taking any kind of stand on the issue without first seeing how states respond.

There are still acts of violence and hate; fights over trans rights, trans athletes, allowing trans youth access to gender-affirming health care and access to books in schools with LGBTQ themes and characters. Do you think federal protection of same-sex marriage will lead to more acceptance of other issues affecting the LGBTQ community?

These issues have been specifically seized upon by opportunistic right-wing politicians who gain power by stoking baseless fears of misunderstood marginalized communities, and then selling themselves as the only protection people have from the targeted group. Rutgers Today Logo.

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