Supreme Court needs to step up and make decision on marriage
By: Steven Goodman – Asst. Opinions Editor
The U.S. Supreme Court began its session last week and found itself almost immediately in the headlines.
In fact, the Supreme Court found its way into the media spotlight for its decision on an issue it did not even hear arguments for. The court effectively legalized same-sex marriage in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Nevada and, initially, Idaho by refusing to hear an appeal against the decision of the ninth U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Almost as soon as the court
released this statement, it appeared to hesitate.
State officials in Idaho asked the Supreme Court for a temporary
delay in issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Justice Anthony Kennedy allowed a temporary delay to be
installed in Idaho (though just how temporary he did not specify) simply because “officials [in Idaho] challenged the ninth Circuit’s decision,” according to an article from The Associated Press.
I, personally, am in favor of the initial decision the Supreme Court made which is to let the ninth
Circuit statement stand and
legalize same-sex marriage in the states in question.
I never understood how an
entire group of people could be put out like that and not allowed something such as marriage, but I digress.
Something needs to be done at the federal level, namely the
Supreme Court, to address same-sex marriage.
Knocking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) a few years ago was a good start, which
allowed same-sex couples to
receive the same benefits as
married heterosexual couples, but it was just that: a start.
The fact that the Supreme Court seemed to trip over its own feet in issuing a statement and then
rescinding it in Idaho makes it even clearer to me that this issue needs to be resolved.
While the full court will step in if the delay extends beyond a few days, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth that the highest court in the U.S. turned that quickly.
The Supreme Court needs to step up and acknowledge that same-sex marriage is a major, if not one of the biggest, issues in the U.S. currently. The highest court in our country needs to have some say in this matter before it can
begin to be truly resolved.
While declining to hear arguments is a simple and indirect way for the court to legalize same-sex marriage, it needs to release some sort of official statement and hear the arguments.
Even though I am for same-sex marriage, I am fully confident that no matter which side of the issue you fall on, the majority of Americans want some final decision on same-sex marriage from the Supreme Court.