Congratulations to all who benefit from this decision. BUT, one big problem that is now made worse is that an entire class of people is even more marginalized. Those who cannot marry because of circumstances other than LGBT issues. An entire class – hidden, marginalized, no one to speak for them, no one to lobby for them, no legal dream team to fight for them. They should not be denied the legal benefits of marriage.
This marginalized class of citizens includes those with medical issues, age, circumstances that make marriage unavailable. Imagine a disabled mother of 6 children widowed or abandoned by a spouse.
A ‘next-of-kin law’ would remedy this. Allow anyone to chose anyone else as their legal next of kin… a brother, sister, friend, neighbor. Get the government out of marriage. Give the legal/financial benefits to all, or to none. (A simple trip to a lawyer will not fix this.) Justice means giving all equal rights. This could happen only if the legal benefits of marriage were open to everyone. They are not.
This decision marginalizes the most disadvantaged among us. Who will speak for them?
I’m still pissed about Tuesday’s SCOTUS ‘gutting’ of the Voting Rights Act. Tuesday, Scalia’s Court (it’s HIS court) screwed Blacks, Hispanics, all kinds of Immigrants, and, yes, the Elderly and Disabled (physically & mentally). It’s like it was orchestrated: “Let’s screw these people out of the vote on Tuesday, and turn around on Wendesday and give the Lib-er-als something to CELEBRATE. They’ll be in such Lib-er-al Glee, they won’t care that we screwed those other folks.”
And I’ve noticed a whole lot of SILENCE about Tuesday’s Voting Rights Act decision. If only we had one more Supreme Court Justice with the kind of balls Ginsburg and Scalia have. Unfortunately, Ruth is in the minority.
It would be nice to see national gay coalitions come out in strong protest of Tuesday’s atrocity.