SCOUTS has just concluded one of their most emotionally charged sessions in recent years. The two big doozies among their ruling were regarding the Voting Rights Act and gay marriage. The latter broke down into two distinct rulings: regarding DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) and California’s Proposition 8 law making a previously passed law of legal gay marriage nullified. In many ways, both topics affect a distinct minority (whether you regard gays as a suspect class or not is another matter), supression of equal rights, and whether the Federal Goverment should intervene on their behalf.

I’m not a scolar on either DOMA or the VRA, but I understand enough of their application to law to realize the profound changes that are going to occur in the coming years for both our society and politics. Also, for sake of brevity, all three rulings were voted in typical 5-4 fashion.

Voting Rights Act – The states that, until previously, had to submit their changes for voting rules or practices to Congress for approval no longer have to do so. All of these states were in the South where Jim Crow laws were rife, poll taxes were implemented, and a host of other barriers were set up to prevent minorities (mostly Black) from voting at all. You can thank the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, which gave us Andrew Johnson, who stopped Reconstruction, which allowed the South do as it damn well pleased to keep recently-freed slaves from being free. But I digress…

While the entire act wasn’t elminated, SCOTUS has declared that if Congress wants such states to ask for permission again Congress will have to propose legislation to enact it. Let’s set aside the fact that the gerrymandering and suppression laws have already started in these (and others, no doubt) states, and focus on the Hatfields and McCoys that is Congress. For the forseeable future, the Senate and House will never agree to a new law with the massive bickering and infighting currently going on. The debate over immigration reform is hot and heavy and taking all of their time. And they certainly won’t bother with this before recess.

In the meantime, I’ll just sit back and see how this plays out. You can bet state legislatures are going to have a field day this this.

DOMA – This one I personally was following since opening statements happened months ago. When this law was passed, I was too young to care. But I am very glad that the world we live in now is smart enough to reject this law. Even though Bill Clinton vetoed it, Congress found the 66.7% majority to override him, which is very telling of how much times have changed. Rarely do laws rarely get the two-thirds majority nowadays (at least on such serious topics), much less so on those obviously tilted toward fear-mongering and religious pandering. Yes, I said it. This law was a solution to a problem that didn’t exist. But, The Bible says marriage to a man and woman is the only way, and everyone else must suffer as if living in a Caste system (see: India).

SCOTUS’ ruling was quite smart. It gives federal rights to same sex couples (inheritance, power of attorney, etc), but only in those states that allow gay marriage. Some thought they would rule that all states had to adhere to the federal rule, which would have created pandemonium and massive backlash. Thirteen states currently allow gay marriage (colloquially referred to as ‘Free States’). Nice pre-Civil War reference there, and not entirely unwarranted.

Marriage is, by its nature, a religious institution, and I respect that. It’s not like the government is telling Churches or religiously-funded organizations that they have to adhere to this ruling. They are free to deny gay couples in whatever respect they wish, but they risk lawsuits, admonishment, and ostacisizing in a country that is slowly becoming a nation where freedom for all really means that. Society, like evolution, constantly adapts to its surroundings. Unless you are a Creationist. If you don’t evolve, you die. Maybe in the year 2113, same sex marriage will be illegal again, but for the time being Western society is clearly angling toward letting everyone who wants to marry be affored equal rights and benefits under the law. And to me, that’s a wonderful thing.

Proposition 18 – Not so much a ruling for or against than the Justices deferring to a lower court’s ruling that this law was illegal in that it created a second class of citizens which is forbidden on practically every Federal rule there is.

Bottom line: gays and lesbians have just as much right to be as happy or miserable in marriage as heteros do.