Supreme Court shoots down DOMA

The Supreme Court of the United States issued its historic ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Proposition 8 cases on Wednesday regarding same-sex marriages.

The Supreme Court ruled section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional Wednesday morning because the act violates the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, stating DOMA is a violation of the “equal protection” clause.

In the Proposition 8 case, the court ruled that the plaintiffs in the appeal of the lower court’s decision had no standing.
 
The lower court’s ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional remains in place, and marriage for same-sex couples is once again legal in California.

In response to this, FairTalk, a grassroots organization working to achieve full marriage equality for same-sex couples in Indiana, held a rally at Rachael’s Café in Bloomington to discuss the outcomes of both DOMA and Proposition 8.

“We are taking steps towards equality in these two rulings,” President and founder of FairTalk Jean Capler said. “But also, we need to remind everyone that we have a lot of work to do across the nation and in Indiana particularly.”

Same-sex couples who are legally married will be recognized by the federal government as married and are therefore eligible for more than 1,100 federal benefits, rights, protections and responsibilities already afforded to legally married heterosexual couples.

Same-sex couples will also be able to marry in the state of California again, bringing the number of states that allow marriage equality to 13 in addition to the District of Columbia.

“The fight continues and the work goes on, but it’s certainly a day worthy of celebration,” said Doug Bauder, office coordinator for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Student Support Services Office.

The fight and struggle Bauder and Capler referred to was House Joint Resolution 6 (HJR6) in Indiana.

“For same-sex couples living in all of the rest of the states that prohibit marriage for them or any legal recognition, like Indiana, the rulings today don’t affect them,” Capler said.

There is no impact on the legal protections or recognition for same-sex couples in Indiana and HJR6 is a proposal for the Indiana Constitution that says marriage in Indiana shall only be valid or recognized between one man and one woman.

“If enacted, this would change the Indiana state constitution to include exclusive language and that means same-sex couples could never get married in Indiana unless we went through another lengthy, multi-year process to change it back,” Capler said.

At the rally, near 60 attendees listened as Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan spoke along with Rabbi Brian Besser and Doug Bauder as well as Reverend Jack Stiles to discuss Indiana’s future.

Kruzan opened by saying equality was alive and well in the U.S., though not fully.

“We need to make sure that not just in Bloomington, Indiana, but throughout the state of Indiana the message is clear that this is truly not one nation till all people are equal,” Kruzan said in reference to HJR6 and the continuous struggles same-sex couples see in legislative debate.

Although the DOMA and Proposition 8 rulings did not legally affect Indiana Wednesday, many who support same-sex marriages said they saw the day’s announcement as a significant step forward.

“It is meaningful that the federal government now recognizes the legal legitimacy of marriages of same-sex couples,” Capler said. “But we still have so much work to do.”