A Nation so Divided

As of June sixteenth, same sex marriage, commonly referred to as gay marriage, had been legalized in California, one of only seven out of fifty American states to do so. The others being Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Maine (pending people's Veto). The Problem here is that on November Fourth, two thousand and eight, The Californian government, by people's vote, passed a constitutional Amendment (Proposition eight) to outlaw same sex marriage. Considering the number of couples who had been married during the time gay marriage had been legalized, the Californian government allowed unions from between the overturn, and the establishment of Proposition eight to stand.

The problem here, is that only a select few couples, the ones smart enough to realize that the chances of same sex marriage staying legal long enough to plan a full out wedding the same way heterosexual couples take leisure in doing, were slim, and consequently rushed into marriage on June sixteenth, or very soon after, are the only gay couples allowed to be married in California.

And further more doesn't denying same sex marriages interfere with the Due Process clause, which guarantees the "fundamental freedom of Marriage"? As was the case with Loving vs. Virginia. Not the same situation, exactly, considering it was a white man and a black woman violating the Virginia ban on interracial marriage, but the case was dropped, because it was found that Virginia's law violated the Due Process clause, which, as previously stated, guarantees fundamental freedom of marriage.

Similarly, in Wisconsin, another scenario was put under scrutiny (Zablocki vs. Redhail), where people who were obligated to pay child support from a previous marriage needed to obtain court permission to marry. Again, this case was dropped, because the courts reasoned that marriage was a fundamental right, under the Equal Protections Clause.

If America has legalized interracial Marriage, and has, in these cases, defined marriage as a fundamental freedom and right, can we not legalize gay marriage?

Yes, by one definition marriage is considered a union between a man and a woman, but by another, marriage is defined simply as "the state, condition, or relationship of being married." Is it so hard for America to actually stand up and become what it claims to be? "A nation of equals"? America will not become a nation of equals, until everyone is actually guaranteed the same rights.

Until then, we shall remain a nation divided.