Saturday, January 4, 2014

Has High Court Already Ruled Utah has Right to Define Marriage?

   If the High Court has already ruled the federal government cannot set aside state laws on same-sex marriage, as it so ruled in Windsor vs. the United States six months ago, then has it not already ruled that states do, indeed, have the right to set the standard on whether same-sex marriages are to be allowed?
   Judge Robert Shelby, then, would be wrong in saying Utah's Proposition 3, which outlaws same-sex marriages, is wrong.
   Utah is pressing this point as it argues for a stay. I think it is valid to make such an argument. The hitch is, the Supreme Court also based its decision in Windsor on the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments. The Fifth Amendment says no one is to "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The Fourteenth Amendment says, "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
   Arguing on the states rights issue is prudent, but Utah will also need to address these three issues from Amendments V and XIV:
1. Why life, liberty, or property should not be equal with same-sex couples, same as heterosexual couples.
2. Why the privileges and immunities for same-sex couples should not be the same as those for heterosexual couples.
3. Why equal protection under the laws does not mean same-sex couples should not be treated equally with heterosexual couples.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/utah-asks-supreme-court-to-block-gay-marriage-decision...by-citing-doma-dec

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