Today the LGBTQ community hit a home run. The Supreme Court was set to rule over the cases of the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California initiate Proposition 8. DOMA is designed to restrict the federal government from accepting same sex marriages.It's clear that this does not apply to states decisions on same sex marriage. Same sex marriage began in California in 2008. It has been one of the hottest topics in mainstream media and social media since then. DOMA was put in place as a religious tool of restricting civil rights of same sex couples.
There are a lot of further questions resonating around the decision. President Obama said the Department of Justice will be deciding on the future of this decision. Will there be executive actions signed by President Obama?
Proposition 8 stopped marriage in the state of California. This is not a national ban but was accepted into the Supreme Court for ruling. California claims Prop 8 is unconstitutional and takes away the rights of LGBTQ citizens for no reason other than moral differences. Today's decision was critical in the acceptance of same sex marriage resuming in California.
In the end, the Supreme Court decided to remand the case and send it back to the state of California. Ruling on jurisdiction, a private group can not take such matters to a national level. Same sex marriage should resume in California while the time line is not clear. There will probably be a 30 day waiting period for marriages after the ban is lifted. Extra staff is needed, and has been brought in, to handle the influx of applications.Hundreds of people gathered in San Francisco and thousands around the nation. Gay Pride begins this week in San Francisco. While the Proposition 8 ruling was a waste of time, it is nice to see that the nation now accepts same sex couples under the law.
Attitudes toward same sex marriage has shifted since 2008 when Proposition 8 was overturned the first time. With growing acceptance, and the DOMA overturn, we should expect to see same sex marriage legalized across the nation within a matter of years.
