After upholding the 1968 Fair Housing Act in the slimmest of margins just last week, the US Supreme Court upheld one of the most significant discriminatory laws in the United States. In a report from reuters.com, the High Court decided again to vote for equality, by a vote of 5 to 4, to legalize same sex marriages throughout the United States.
In its decision, penned by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the majority said that the Constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection prohibit states from disallowing and/or banning same-sex marriages. Thus, all previous marriages of this nature, have been validated and gay marriages becomes legal moving forward.
Justice Kennedy wrote, as quoted by nytimes.com, "No longer may this liberty be denied. No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they once were."
He added, marriage is a 'keystone of our social order' and the plaintiffs in this seminal case sought only "equal dignity in the eyes of the law."
The decision further read, as quoted in edition.cnn.com, "Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of the civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."
Joining Justice Kennedy were the four other liberals of the Court, the same four that decided to uphold the 1968 Fair Housing Act to prevent discrimination in housing.
Dissent was high in the Court itself, as Justice Antonin Scalia called the decision a "threat to American democracy." He added, "The substance of today's decree is not of immense personal importance to me. But what really astounds is the hubris reflected in today's judicial Putsch."
Chief Justice John Roberts, for his part, also dissented, saying "If you are among the many Americans - of whatever sexual orientation - who favor same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today's decision. Celebrate the achievement of a desired goal. Celebrate the opportunity for a new expression of commitment to a partner. Celebrate the availability of new benefits. But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it."
