How can States legalize Homosexual marriage,and still have Sodomy Laws on their books

[52ndStreet]

Can some one explain to me how some states can legalize Homosexual marriage and still have Sodomy laws on their books?.Isn't Homosexual marriage, and Homosexual acts a form of Sodomy??.
Doesn't Homosexual marriage laws present a legal conflict with current States Sodomy laws?.Can some one explain.?

 

[Steerpike]

Sodomy laws have been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, so even where they are still on the books they don't appear to be enforceable. Some States still have laws on the books that would make abortion illegal if the issue ever went back to the States, but as we know those aren't enforceable at the present time.

 

[52ndStreet]

I see, so sodomy has been ruled unconstitutional, by the supreme court.
Have all states accepted this ruling.?

 

[Steerpike]

I see, so sodomy has been ruled unconstitutional, by the supreme court.
Have all states accepted this ruling.?

Sodomy laws (not sodomy) have been ruled unconstitutional, and it was a ruling based on the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, so the States don't get a choice to accept it or not, because the U.S. Constitution trumps state laws and constitutions.

So to answer your question more directly: those state anti-sodomy laws are invalid and unenforceable and so whether they're on the books or not doesn't impact the gay marriage debate.

 

[52ndStreet]

Sodomy laws (not sodomy) have been ruled unconstitutional, and it was a ruling based on the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, so the States don't get a choice to accept it or not, because the U.S. Constitution trumps state laws and constitutions.

So to answer your question more directly: those state anti-sodomy laws are invalid and unenforceable and so whether they're on the books or not doesn't impact the gay marriage debate.

Do you think the Supreme Court will ever rule on Homosexual marriage?.

 

[Steerpike]

Do you think the Supreme Court will ever rule on Homosexual marriage?.

I don't know.

Marriage itself has been recognized as a fundamental right. Homosexuality is not a "suspect classification" thought (a suspect classification is something like race, where there is a high level of scrutiny applied if the government discriminates based on it).

I think the Supreme Court will avoid the issue and leave it to the States, where it should be, unless we get to a point where it becomes an issue of Full Faith and Credit and a bunch of states refusing to recognize the marriages of other States.

If that happens and there is a liberal tilt on the Court, they'll probably say it violates Full Faith and Credit. If there is a more conservative tilt, they'll probably say that Congress can place limits on Full Faith and Credit (which it has done by statute) and/or that Full Faith and Credit has exceptions, which historically it does.

Who knows. I imagine the issue will make its way up there at some point, but I can't say how soon it is likely to happen.

 

[Ravi]

It's funny. I used to think conservatives were about letting people do what they wanted with little interference from the government. I'm having a hard time reconciling their stance on a lot of issues these days with what I thought they stood for.