RENWL

Renowned law professor and founding law school Dean at UC Irvine Erwin Chemerinsky, is considered a top expert on constitutional law and civil procedure across the land. He published this excellent article Gay Marriage And The Constitution today on Saturday Night Magazine’s Web site.   We thought we’d share it with you all here on RENWL.org.  It’s a little drier than our usual fare. But nonetheless good reading for those of you who like to dwelve  into the interpretation of the Constitution and how it relates to LGBT rights. 

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Within this decade, a major step to equality has occurred in much of the world. Same sex marriage is now allowed in Canada and most nations in Western Europe. In 2008, two state supreme courts, in California and Connecticut, held that gays and lesbians have the right to marry. They joined Massachusetts as the first states in this country to provide for marriage equality. Until California voters amended the California Constitution in November to outlaw same sex marriage, over one in eight people in the United States lived in a state where same sex marriage was allowed.

Why does this matter? Most studies estimate that about one tenth of the population is gay. Laws in every state traditionally have provided enormous benefits to married couples that were unavailable to others. These statutes concern important matters such as child custody, inheritance, insurance coverage, and tax benefits. When I got married, my wife could immediately get coverage under my insurance and could inherit from me if I died. But gays and lesbians are usually permanently denied these benefits that married couples receive automatically.

Beyond the tangible benefits, marriage is the primary way in which people express their love and desire for permanent commitment. Denying marriage equality to gays and lesbians is a powerful statement that society still believes them to be second-class (or worse) citizens.

Social attitudes about homosexuality have changed enormously over recent decades. As recently as 1961, every state and the District of Columbia had laws prohibiting private consensual homosexual activity between adults. By the beginning of this decade, relatively few states still had such laws.

In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that such laws are unconstitutional. It held that the right to privacy protected under the Constitution includes a right of consenting adults to engage in private homosexual activity. No longer can any state punish such behavior.

For full article go to: Saturday Night Magazine.

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