Should 'same-sex marriage' be decided at a national level, or should each state decide for itself ?

Answer 1

Dear Nosey,
Asking who has the right to decide about gay marriage rights is like asking who should be allowed to decide African American rights. IF this needs to be decided then it's not a right it's a gift or a grant. IF you wish to advertise your nation as one of equality then the right to chose the person you love for yourself, needs to be the right of all couples.
No one should be deciding this for me other than me.
Hugs,
PennyAnn

Answer 2

Well, this is a very interesting question, I believe. Marriage laws in the US have been traditionally held by the states, and quite frankly, the states have different laws for consensual age of marriage. This has never been a problem, because up until now, other states have accepted the laws of different states. ANY marriage legal in one state is legal in any other state. But with the start of states accepting SSM, this unwritten 'rule' is being circumvented. States are writing into their constitutions that they will NOT allow SSM, even if another state does. Actions like this make it reasonable for the federal government to step in and it looks like the issue will HAVE to be decided on a national level, trumping states rights.

Right now, there seems to be NO constitutional reason (federal) for banning SSM. When the case ever gets to the Supreme Court, I hope the activist judges appointed by GWB follow the law, and don't decide to legislate from the bench!

Answer 3

It should not be decided on a state level at all. It's not an issue that has any basis whatsoever on public opinion. It's my life not some popularity contest.

When Abraham Lincoln made his Gettysburg Address, a speech meant to unify a hurting nation he said, Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." He said dedicated that ALL men are created equal, he didn't say "except the homos!"

On the base of the Statue of Liberty are these words written by Emma Lazarus, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door." These words were considered so important to the very nature of what it means to be an American and no where does it say "excepts the homos".

No where in the Constitution, The Bill Of Rights, or anywhere else on national document is any one law abiding group of people signaled out in order to be denied the basic comforts afforded to the citizenry. It has been tried before and each and every time any attempt to do so has been overturned by the USSC.

Some people attempt to use religious arguments in order to justify the denial of SSM. This is unAmerican. One religion is not permitted to take preference over another. Since there are religions and denominations that condone and justify SSM, and since there is no State religion, this argument is moot.

This needs to be decided on a national level and argued before the USSC by better people than I who are more eloquent and qualified to do so. This matter is will one day get there and when it does it will be the most hotly debated issues ever presented.

Off my soapbox now.

Answer 4

I think each state should decide for itself on whether or not same-sex marriage shoud be legal. I think so because I think if you love someone, no matter what gender, and you are willing to make such a large commitment like marriage, who should stop you? No one. So why is everyone making a big deal about same sex marriages. It's none of anyone's business but the couples and I think people are very narrow minded in that aspect. Why is it ok for a man to marry a woman, but it is not okay for a woman to marry a woman, or a man to marry a man? It's really stupid to me. I could see people not being allowed to marry animals. That should be against the law. But gay and lesbian marriage shouldn't be.

Answer 5

I think it should be accepted on a national level...because there is no other logical "decision"... Doing it state by state continues to segregate us ... like when the south treated black people like crap while the north didn't... that said... it appears as though the "growth process" is done state by state... and a national decision would be impossible without the pressure of "why are you the LAST state to deny equal rights?".... there's a few "fly over" states that are going to need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century....

Answer 6

I want to say national level, but if that fails, we're all kind of f**ked, to be quite blunt, although it could change. I don't think it can be a state right, but it should be. Marriages have been made beneficial by the federal government, so I believe that it's a federal issue, and federally, the opinion has already been enacted into law through DOMA.

Answer 7

According to the U.S. Constitution, marriage is a matter for the individual states to regulate, NOT the Federal government. Therefore, any law that attempts to regulate marriage on the national level (such as the Defense of Marriage Act passed in 1996) is, or would be, unconstitutional.

Marriages legalized in one state are supposed to be legal in ALL states thanks to the "full faith and credit" clause of the Constitution (all contracts and agreements that are legally entered into in one state are to be honored in all other states as well) -- so all of the laws passed by various states defining marriage as "one man, one woman" and specifically prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages contracted in other states are, IMO, unconstitutional as well.

Answer 8

There should be civil unions on a national level, and states can decide if they want to call it marriage.

Answer 9

The state level....absolutely....

why leave it up to the federal government to decide what the individual state can and cannot do..

any hear of the Civil War???

Answer 10

1. Either get the Government completely out of the "Marriage Business"
or
2. Allow "same-sex marriage"
It's called "Equal Rights under the LAW", a Founding principle of our Country!