Next on the Chopping Block - Same Sex Marriage

Except the Equal Protection clause still only applies to government entities...

The Fourteenth Amendment, by its terms, limits discrimination only by governmental entities, not by private parties.
How 'bout that. I stand corrected; the Civil Rights Act draws its authority from the Commerce Clause, not the 14th Amendment. (Double-checked here: civil rights)

Point goes to the evil faerie. Carry on.
 
It might be that even though marriage is nowhere mentioned in the Constitution, it may be considered as a strong enough tradition to warrant constitutional protection. If that is so, then I cannot see any way the Supreme Court could hold same sex marriage as any less legal than opposite sex marriage, or interracial marriages either. A strict, originalist interpretation could say otherwise, so I guess we'll see. It is possible the court will see this issue as not so different from the abortion decision; if it ain't in the Constitution then it ain't constitutional and the US Congress would not have the legal standing to pass a law to regulate marriage and the issue could fall to the states just like abortion did. There has to be a line that delineates what can be legislated at the federal level and what can't. For a long time now the federal gov't has stretched that line quite a bit, but we'll see what happens. My own personal feelings are that every American ought to be able to enter into a marriage without any gov't regulation whatsoever, except for age and mental capacity, just like you can for any business dealing or anything else. A person ought to be able to make their own decisions, but the question is whether the federal gov't should have any say in that. Purely from a legal perspective I'd say no, it seems to me that the question should fall under the 14th Amendment, no discrimination allowed.

Will Congress pass the Same Sex Marriage Act? I hope so, but it's foundation in law is somewhat suspect. And I might add this: people can get married without the blessing of any law or level of gov't. The couple can create every legal document that a marriage assumes, no matter what their circumstances are. Wills, Power of Attorney, Physician's Directive, stuff like that and more. More or less like a business contract, if I can enter into a business contract with anybody of any color, creed, or gender identity then that is essentially a marriage in every way except the way your gov't looks at it. It shouldn't be that way, but right now it is what it is.
 

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