In the past, the struggle over gay rights and gay marriage has taken place on legal and religious grounds. Does the federal Constitution or a state constitution guarantee equal rights to individuals, whatever their sexual conduct may be? Do the religious convictions of some demand that only a man and a woman are entitled to marriage? Today, these issues are not the only ones. A new force—economics—has entered the debate and urges equality for all.
The national trend toward gender equality is unmistakable. The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down Section 3 of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as a union between one woman and one man and barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court, per Justice Anthony Kennedy, required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in the then-12 states that approved of those unions. Since then, courts from Kentucky to Texas have been striking down anti-marriage laws on state or federal constitutional grounds. Some of those cases remain on appeal.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
