The Supreme Court redeemed themselves after a major voters rights failure by striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that prevented gay married couples from receiving benefits.
The 5-4 vote means that gay couples will now have access to tax, health and retirement benefits that are reserved for married heterosexual couples. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion for the landmark decision.
“Under DOMA, same-sex married couples have their lives burdened, by reason of government decree, in visible and public ways,” Kennedy said.
“DOMA’s principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal,” he said.
He was joined by the court’s four liberal justices. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.
The decision will affect a large portion of the country – if you recall, same sex marriage has been adopted by 12 states and the District of Columbia.
In addition, California’s ban on gay marriage, also known as Proposition 8, was ruled unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court has cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California by holding that defenders of California’s gay marriage ban did not have the right to appeal lower court rulings striking down the ban.
That means big wins all around for gay couples around the country!
And while we’re still reeling from SCOTUS’ decision to strike down portions of the Voter’s Right Act, we’re happy that they showed up and showed out today.
Finally, they’re on the right side of history.
SOURCE: AP
