Last week the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on California’s Proposition 8, a ballot proposal passed in the Golden State that prohibits same-sex marriage, and the Defense of Marriage Act, legislation signed by President Bill Clinton that defines legal marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
By bringing this case to the Supreme Court, America has made same-sex marriage a federal issue. Americans should push instead to make defining marriage a state responsibility. The Supreme Court should strike down DOMA, which enforces a national standard on marriage. By upholding Prop 8, however, the court would set a precedent of allowing the states to make decisions about hot-button issues.
The Court receives approximately 10,000 petitions annually, and usually grants oral arguments to around 75 cases. The Court’s decision to hear both cases in the same session reflects the rising public sentiment. According to a 2012 Gallup Poll, 53 percent of Americans believe that same-sex marriage should have the same legal standing as traditional marriage, up from 27 percent in 1996. The nation will now wait until summer for a decision that could change America’s legal and cultural atmosphere.
Supporting same-sex marriage does not demand necessarily that your church or synagogue or mosque has to accommodate gay couples that want to get married. Religious institutions should not be compelled to declare same-sex marriage morally valid. The First Amendment protects this right to deny government intrusion.
Nor are you a bigot if you object to same-sex marriage on a personal level. Many opponents of same-sex marriage see it as a threat to traditional marriage. They want to protect marriage, a staple of a healthy nation. This is a worthy goal. That does not mean, however, that they should demand that SCOTUS make an immediate decision. The nation has begun debating this issue in earnest and to mandate its resolution so quickly would be to suggest that states do not deserve to have a dialogue about controversial issues.
California citizens voted on Prop 8 in 2010, and by a 52 percent vote upheld traditional marriage. The decision of the Governor and the Attorney General to refuse to uphold their constituents’ votes and to push the case to the Supreme Court demonstrates the government’s lack of respect for the will of a majority. Why vote at all if the decision rests with unelected judges?
With regard to decisions affecting individual citizens, Alexander Hamilton wrote in “Federalist 17:” “It may be said that it would tend to render the government of the Union too powerful, and to enable it to absorb those residuary authorities, which it might be judged proper to leave with the States for local purposes.” This is a tough issue. Don’t deprive the states of their prerogative to make decisions that they know are best for their citizens.
The role of the government is to protect life, liberty, and property. If the Supreme Court mandates that every state accept same-sex marriage, it suggests that the federal government exists to impose its universal will on the nation.
Implementing a state-by-state decision on same-sex marriage will have difficulties. If a same-sex couple is married in California, what happens when they move to a state that only upholds traditional marriage? The honest answer is that we don’t know. But challenges do not mean we force the court to act as our parent.
Americans should see this court case as another infringement of their states’ right to legislate on issues affecting their local communities. With court rulings such as Roe v. Wade and a federal bureaucracy for every issue, there’s almost nothing left states can do on their own. Jimmy Carter even signed legislation mandating a 55 mile per hour speed limit. Bureaucrats in Washington cannot possibly know what is right for every state. It’s time for states to stop passing the buck and make their own decisions.
This isn’t about DOMA or Prop 8, pieces of legislation that will fade in public memory in a few years. This is about changing a culture that keeps asking Justice Anthony Kennedy to make every difficult choice on its behalf.
