WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will take on the issue of gay marriage next year on two critical fronts: In one case it will decide whether same-sex married couples can be deprived of federal benefits, and in another it will review a state ban on same-sex marriage, raising the possibility it will find all such bans unconstitutional.
The nation’s highest court agreed Friday to review an appeals court decision that challenges the constitutionality of a 1996 federal law defining marriage as a union solely between one man and one woman, barring legally married gay couples from receiving federal benefits such as spousal disability, Social Security, and family medical leave.
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Thanks to Mary Bonauto and A.G. Martha Coakley for their stalwart efforts on behalf of the LGBT community. They -and countless others - have brought us to the threshold of true, reasoned freedom to love and marry who we choose. The SCOTUS hopefully will agree that the federal government cannot deny the same benefits to same sex couples it has freely granted to married heterosexuals. There is no compelling reason to allow this discrimination. We have subsidized heterosexuals marriage and family tax breaks for decades with our taxable dollars. It is only fair to reciprocate to those who choose to marry legally.
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With all that is going on, why are we wasting court time on this issue? Most of us do not care whether they 'marry' or not. Any married couple should get the same benefits; otherwise it is discrimination. Gay rights and the abortion issue, are not matters that majority care about. It is a certain faction that is bringing it all up. Forget about it already and get on with the real issues that plague this country.
I tend to vomit at the idea of same sexes having sex with each other but it is supposed to be a free country and the issue should not even be a matter for the courts to consider. I would not even get upset if a guy married a sheep. None of my business nor anybody else's.