Soaps.com - MESSAGE BOARDS

Legally speaking, marriage is whatever each state's constitution defines it to be. The U.S. Constitution says nothing about marriage - between anyone - therefore the states can define marriage however they please. There is no 'right' to marry for anyone. Only those people who are granted the legal right to marry by their state laws have the 'right' to marry. Marriage & divorce laws vary greatly from state to state & this has always been the case.

I am thrilled that the CA S.C. upheld the vote of the people recently. As with almost every issue not mentioned by the U.S. Constitution, I believe the people of each state should be allowed to vote on matters that would change their state's laws. Had the voters of CA voted to legalize gay marriage, I would not want the CA S.C. to step in & nullify that. State supreme courts should not be in the business of making law - not now, not ever. Let people vote!

Yes, I know..."But marriage is a right & people shouldn't get to vote on others' rights!"

The 'right to marry' is stated nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. Marriage is not a 'right' even between a man & a woman other than how it is defined by the laws of the state in which they live & wish to marry. Freedom of speech is a right, carrying a gun is a right, life is a right - & these are all being infringed upon as we speak. Marriage is not a right guaranteed to any U.S. citizen.

So, Dick Chenney is for gay marriage and Obama is not, ironic? Course, Chenney has a gay daughter with a partner of many years(more than 10) and they have a baby. Guess it's okay if you have family members that are gay? I do hope that one day, gay marriage is made available to gays and lesbians. Just because I'm straight and have been married for more than 20 years why should our gay brothers and sisters not be allowed the same "legal protection" of their properties.

New Hampshire just became the SIXTH state to legalize gay marriage. Many think the issue is a state's rights issue. The thing that I have to say about "state's rights" is this it took the US Supreme Court in the court case Loving vs. Virginia to make it legal for persons of different races to be allowed to marry each other. Up until that point it was still against the law for people of different races to marry each other in 16 states, mainly in the South. It also took a court case for other races besides whites to be allowed to vote and much earlier for women to be allowed to vote. For a long time in the United Stated you were EQUAL, if you were a "WHITE MAN". Now it will probably take another court case for gay & lesbians to be allowed to marry the person that they love, only 6 states so far are allowing them to do so. This country has had to "right" many wrong "laws" that were considered states rights issues, including but not limited to women being allowed to vote, minorities being allowed to vote, people of different races being allowed to vote, and women being allowed to own property. For many married women, if they wanted to get their tubes tied they had to take their husband with them to the doctor so he could sign a "permission" slip allowing her to have a procedure TO HER OWN BODY. I will mention Roe vs. Wade, but NOT debate it. I won't even get into the BIGGEST so called states rights issue of slavery. Gay marriage will end up in the Supreme Court, it is a question of EQUAL RIGHTS for ALL OF OUR CITIZENS, not just the straight ones. I for one hope and pray that my gay brothers and sisters be allowed the right to marry, just like I was able to because I'm straight.

I have no problem with state's making their own decisions about marriage. That's they way it's always been b/c marriage is not a federal issue. With the CA S.C., which is more liberal than the U.S. Supreme Court, voting 6-1 to uphold the decision of the people of CA, I don't see the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing to hear a case involving gay marriage anytime soon. They will refuse to hear it & tell the states to work it out themselves. Most of them adhere to the Constitution even when it hurts. With John Roberts at the helm, I imagine the cases they hear will become mighty selective.

Above & beyond my personal feelings on gay marriage, abortion, & many other issues, I fear a federal government that is too powerful. The Constitution was written in such a way to prevent states from being run roughshod by the feds.

Also, the Supreme Court gets it wrong sometimes & when they do, where do you go from there? They were the ones who initially approved 'separate but equal.' If they agree to hear a case involving gay marriage, what if they were to rule that marriage will be defined in the U.S. as between a man & a woman. If Sotomayor is approved, there will be 6 Roman Catholics on the S.C. & I would think most people would rather allow people in each state to decide who can legally marry rather than leaving the fate of the entire nation in the hands of 6 Roman Catholics. Were they to rule against gay marriage, that would nullify the marriages in the 6 states that currently allow gays to marry. There is no recourse after the S.C. rules.

I still don't understand how the whole argument is that marriage is a right shared by all except gay people??? If it was a right, why do straight people have to apply for a license? I really don't understand this part. Or is the license just required in my state? This makes no sense to me.
And I have a question...for those who insist minorities are getting the shaft...have any of you worked in corporate America, the driving force behind our country? I always have. I am white, and in the massive minority in my whole company, as is my husband, and every single white friend we have (we have frends of all races, so don't try to play the race card with me). We are minorities to not only blacks AND hispanics, but mostly Asian and Middle Eastern. And I am not complaining about that - most Asian folks are smarter than us Americans, and Middle Eastern as well - they go to school longer.
I'm just saying that to group all of America as still being prejudice is wrong. As for pay, these same Asians and Middle Eastern folks are the heads of these companies, so I can probably assume they make more than my white pay check.