Yup those were the three most popular tags on twitter at least at one point this morning. And for the first time there was not a "tell your (insert politician here) to tell the supreme court to rule on....."
That to me was so exciting. I now know that in my lifetime I will be able to get married. I now know that I am valued to the country I live in.
Now I know these decisions will not have that many immediate effects. What it does is say that any state that has approved or will approve same sex marriages can't take it back, ever. And yes DOMA is officially dead. We have the desicion around PROP 8 to thank for this, and in a weird way we must thank prop 8 itself. If prop 8 had never happened, (as horrible as it was), the constitutional debate over same sex marriage would have never entered the legal arena to the scale that it did. However, in today's decision, there is nothing given down that says that the fed govt or the states that don't have SS marriages, have to have them. There is not going to be a law (yet) that forces them too. I feel that the video below definitely explains it right in saying that it sets a moral standard for the entire country that are marriages should be allowed and recognized, but does not technically force any legal change in states that don't have it.
That leads me to the other decision. People in states that do not have ss marriages are going to continue the fight to have there state laws change, and although the moral example the supreme court has set will help their cases, that alone sadly will not win them. However what I believe will help them win the cases is the Tax Desicion. In the next one or two year, or however much time is legally needed to change it, same sex couples who are married in states that allow their marriages will now be allowed to file joint tax returns and receive all equal federal benefits as a hetero couple. In short, the federal govt has to recognize all same sex marriages. The question lies is it fair/constitutional to deny those tax benefits to couples (although unmarried) in other states? (obviously I believe its wrong, but I alone am not going to change the governor of Mississippi's mind).
So that my shpeal/opinion/explanation. I am happy. I am ecstatic. But there is of course still more work to be done. However I believe it will get done a lot faster than previously anticipated because of these decisions. So enjoy NBC's analysis that I have found I believe does it justice and explains it in a way that is understandable. Peace -Sam
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