Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Gay Marriage in the United States

Mass. Senate votes to let out-of-state gays marry
(That's from the Associated Press. Since it will be available at that URL for only a month from today I'm going to post a few tiny excerpts to make my point. I believe this would be covered under the Fair Use copyright laws.)

Ok, enough of that on to why I'm writing about this.

I was REALLY hoping that California's recent legalization of gay marriage would have this sort of snow-ball effect across the country. Now, a discriminatory law that was rarely enforced in Massachusetts except for gay couples is about to be repealed.

Quoth the AP:
The state Senate voted Tuesday to repeal a 1913 law used to bar out-of-state gay couples from marrying in the state. The move to repeal the law, which prohibits couples from obtaining marriage licenses if they couldn't legally wed in their home states, is driven in part by California's recent legalization of same-sex marriage.


What I think is going to happen from here is that couples who travel to California or Massachusetts and get married will then travel back home and file suits to have their state recognize their marriage under the federal Full Faith and Credit Clause written into the United States' Constitution. It says that states should respect "public acts, records, and judicial rulings" made in other states. That means that if you're married in California, your marriage should be recognized by Oklahoma, Idaho, or even Florida. That's the way it is for heterosexual couples.

I predict a flurry of lawsuits being brought in the future. And, while I occasionally complain about the litigious society that is the US, in this case, perhaps that litigiousness will bring about some good.