Congress should move quickly to eliminate all federal barriers to same-sex marriage in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s action to allow same-sex couples to wed in five states that sought to uphold bans on marriage equality.
Predictably, many commentators said the Supreme Court’s quick action in denying appeals to states seeking to ban same-sex marriage was
“surprising.” It was not surprising in the sense that states cannot expect to pass laws that deny their citizens their fundamental rights under the US Constitution and expect those law to stand. The U.S. Supreme Court had no choice but to let freedom, and same-sex wedding bells, ring in those states seeking to uphold their bans.
{mosads}The Constitutional right to same-sex marriage is established in many states and hopefully will be established in all states in coming
months. Same-sex couples should be granted their right to marry in all states, even the most resistant states in the Deep South. This
constitutional right is a human right.
Other journalists and commentators will write about how fast the issues of marriage equality swept the nation. That also would not be entirely accurate.
The thing that is surprising is why it has taken so many decades to arrive at marriage equality. Lesbian moms and gay dads and their children of the 1960s were the leaders in same-sex marriage and family issues. History largely does not remember them. From the 1960s the
1990s, he gay community, as a whole, was more interested in unrestricted sexual liberation than family issues.
Same-sex marriage and family, as a major social issue, simply didn’t register with the LGBT community until the tragedy of the AIDS crisis
caused individuals to rethink their lives and seek a saner definition of sexual liberation in the form of marriage equality. A legion of “equality” groups then shifted their fundraising focus to benefit from the new cause of legalized same-sex marriage.
The Supreme Court’s decision will expand human rights, equality, and give same-sex families and their children the much delayed dignity they have long deserved but were denied due to bigotry and a popular image LGBT people were not so much interested in marriage as in
forcing their lifestyles onto an unaccepting and condemning society.
In many ways, the LGBT community has been its own worst enemy since Stonewall by sexually rebelling in ways mainstream society found
offensive. These sexually offensive images, caught forever on social media, hurt the legitimate efforts of early same-sex marriage and
family advocates.
Society also changed since Stonewall as more and more LGBT people came out and earned friendship and common cause with straight allies. It has taken decades and cost millions of dollars to accomplish marriage equality.
If the LGBT community had called on lesbian moms and gay dads of the 1960s to lead the charge for the issue, marriage equality might have
been settled long ago and lives lost in the 1980s might have enjoyed acceptance and love rather than discrimination and painfully short lives.
The Supreme Court decision will not end debate on same-sex marriage as many individuals and politicians will continue to harangue the issue
and same-sex couples and their children. The “all kids need a mother and father” issue will go on for the foreseeable future even though
those making the charge are from single parent, straight, families..
As same-sex couples marry in Virginia, Utah, Wisconsin Oklahoma, and Indiana, protesters will gain a few moments of publicity by making
anti-gay statements. Same sex couples will also gain a few moments of publicity by making life and love affirming commitments to “love,
honor and respect each other till death do they part.”
History will record and remember the statements that reflect on the independence and dignity of America and not the persisting bigotry that has hurt so many for so long. The Supreme Court action is a repudiation of history and an affirmation of love. Congress should also act to affirm the dignity of same-sex couples and abolish all forms of federal discrimination against them.
Patterson is a San Francisco-based writer ,speaker and human rights activist.