If a state decides to ban gay marriage...
Posted July 29th, 2008 by nothappy
output
...has the state acted in violation of my civil liberties to marry whomever I choose, so long as I do not harm anyone else by doing so?
edit: If yes, does that mean that the federal government has the power to step in to protect my rights?
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The way I understand it, the
The way I understand it, the federal government has zero authority (as per the Constitution) to handle this matter. This issue, as far as I can tell, is a State's right to decide upon. Reference: Amendments 9 & 10 of the Constitution.
I suppose the only way the Federal Government could get involved would be in the form of amending the Constitution. But if that were to happen it would not likely benefit you as any amendment in relation to this would probably be related to defining marriage to be a union between man and woman.
Sorry for the long delay
and I welcome any input from anyone here, but this question is really meant to be one example of the many times where it MIGHT be permissible for the federal government to step in to change state law. Thus the 'leave it to the states to decide' mentality doesn't really cut it, because ultimately the federal government will have to decide if enforcement of a law that says "marriage is legally defined as the union of a man and a woman" is an infringement of individual rights.
I think we could all agree here that such a law IS definitely an infringement of my rights. The question then turns to a more general, philosophic one: does the government have the responsibility to protect my rights when violated at the state level?
My reading of the constitution can go either way. Yes, as it's been said, the 9th and 10th amendments suggest that the government shouldn't step in. But when a state violates our rights, perhaps it only makes sense that the federal government steps in to protect them?, just like it the federal courts can step in if a state violates my rights to free speech, freedom of association, etc.?
See Article 4 in the U.S. Constitution.
You can also google "Full Faith and Credit" + "gay marriage". The recognition, by one state, of marriages that took place in a different state is often covered by reciprocity agreements between the states, unless one state specifically prohibits such an act. The issue is still in some doubt.
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"An economy built on fiat money is a society on its way to ashes."
Not from the current
position of laws as they exist today.
You need to get the laws passed in the state that you live in.
I'm not an attorney, but this is my opinion based on what I've seen on the matter.
I think that if "infringement of civil liberties" was a valid issue in this matter, all the states which have had court cases on it would be changing their laws.
What we've seen is that each individual state must make the laws to suit this.