Gay Marriage

Brooke Kennedy
American History
Carter Glass
29 March 2013

Bibliography:
"Inside the Supreme Court: The Case for Marriage Equality and Oral Argument | American Foundation for Equal Rights."American Foundation for Equal Rights | . N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2013. <http://www.afer.org/blog/inside-the-supreme-court-the-case-for-marriage-equality-and-oral-argument/>.

Summary:
The Supreme Court met on Tuesday, March 26th to open the arguments in v. Perry about proposition 8 in California. Two couple are representing DOMA Hollingsworth and arguing that Prop. 8 violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Then on Wednesday, March 27th opened the arguments in United States v. Windsor about the "constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996", (DOMA)"the law that prevented the federal government from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples in states with marriage equality". Edie Windsor is an 83-year-old widow who was married to a woman and is being forced to pay $363,000 in estate taxes, a tax she wouldn't have to pay if she was married to a man. Her argument is that DOMA "violates her right to equal protection of the laws".

Analysis:
Why does the government say anything about marriage at all? It should not be a government discussion or decision. However, without the government getting involved, nothing would get done. The government needs to be involved to keep everything organized as much as possible. The woman that had to pay $363,000 should not have had that happen to her just because she was not married to a man. Personally I do no disagree with gay marriage. It does not affect me in any way, therefore I believe that there should be equal marriage rights for everyone.