WASHINGTON (ABP) — In the continuing battle over same-sex marriage, both supporters and opponents found victories in the opening days of August.
Missourians voted overwhelmingly Aug. 3 to amend that state's constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, a Seattle judge ruled the next day that Washington's ban on same-sex marriage violates that state's constitution.
Missouri voters approved the constitutional amendment by a 70-to-30 percent margin. Although the state already had a law banning same-sex marriage, some activists feared that a state judge might overrule the law.
That is exactly what happened in Washington Aug. 4. King County Superior Court Judge William Downing said a state law similar to Missouri's — modeled after the federal Defense of Marriage Act and thus labeled by many a “state DOMA” — violated the Washington constitution.
A group of gay couples, denied marriage licenses by King County authorities in March, sued the county and state under two sections of the constitution. One provides all citizens equal rights to the protections and privileges offered by the state's laws, and the other provides for due process of law.
Downing agreed with the gay couples, rejecting the state's claim that there are legitimate secular reasons — such as protecting children who may be raised in same-sex marriages — to limit marriage rights to heterosexuals.
“The exclusion of same-sex partners from civil marriage and the privileges attendant thereto is not rationally related to any legitimate or compelling state interest and is certainly not narrowly tailored toward such an interest,” Downing wrote.
A ruling last year by Massachusetts' Supreme Court made it the first state to legalize same-sex marriage. The ruling stoked the fires of debate over the subject nationwide, with religious conservatives pushing to get gay-marriage bans added to state and federal constitutions.
The issue has also cropped up in this year's campaigns for the presidency and Congress. Polls show that a large majority of Americans oppose the idea of same-sex marriage, but they place the issue relatively low on their list of priorities — after national security, health care, education and other issues.
Missouri is the first of several states scheduled to hold popular votes on same-sex-marriage bans, and is generally considered a bellwether state politically. Gay-marriage opponents said the large majority proves that, when left in the hands of voters, efforts to protect “traditional marriage” will succeed.
“Citizens from all across the 'Show-Me' State have shown once again that, when the people's voice is not muted by unelected judges, they speak out soundly in support of marriage as it has always been traditionally defined,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins in an Aug. 3 statement. “We believe today's win for traditional marriage in Missouri will prove to be just one of many victories for marriage this fall.”
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