Same-sex Marriage

Should the Supreme Court revoke California’s prop 8? This is the ongoing debate our generation will have to address. California has been in the epicenters of this debate; as we witnessed voters oppose gay marriage in the elections of 2008. In 2008, California’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of a right to same-sex marriage. Months after the ruling, a majority of the electorate overturned that decision in a statewide ballot initiative. In Justice, Sandel shares his opinion on same-sex marriage. Sandel asks, “can you decide whether the state should recognize same-sex marriage without entering into moral and religious controversies about the purpose of marriage and the moral status of homosexuality?”(253). While many argue on the non judge-mental liberal grounds, others completely disagree. The debate continues whether same-sex unions are worthy of honor and recognition. In my opinion, I believe that the Supreme Court should rule in favor for same-sex marriage. I agree with Sandel that we don’t have to come to an agreement on what the good life is we should let everyone decide for them selves.
Sandel believes that it is discriminatory to allow heterosexual couples to marry but not homosexual couples. He claims this denies them equality before the law. In his discussion about same-sex marriage, Sandel asks “how can we reason about the good if people have different ideas of what is worthy of honor and recognition?” In addition, he shares three possible policies that a state can adopt. The first following would be the traditional one, which is recognizing only marriages between a man and woman. The second recognizes same-sex as well as opposite-sex marriages. The third policy would be to not recognize marriage of any kind, and just leave that role to private associations.
Proposition 8 (The California Marriage Protection Act), is a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in November 2008 state elections. Prop 8 is an amendment to restore and preserve the definition of marriage as a union between man and woman. The organizers of the "No on Prop 8" campaign issued a statement on November 6 saying, "Tuesday’s vote was deeply disappointing to all who believe in equal treatment under the law." The day after the election, counties such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and others, stopped issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The new provision to the “Declaration of Rights” provides that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Many protests across the state led to several lawsuits. By restricting the recognition of marriage to same-sex couples, the proposition was brought to California’s Supreme Court March 26, 2013. The lawsuits challenged the constitutionality against the passage of Prop 8. The political turnabout suggested that the Court should stay out of the same-sex marriage question. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed the decision that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. All in all, the court is expected to issue its ruling by late June 2013. Another option for same-sex couples in addition to marriage laws are civil unions. A civil union is an alternative that allows gay and lesbians to receive something that compares to the same rights as marriage. There are civil unions or domestic partnership laws that grant legal protections, inheritance rights, hospital visitation rights, and child custody arrangements to unmarried couples who live together. While civil