Yesterday morning, the Supreme Court dealt a major blow to opponents of marriage equality. It refused to hear every one of the appeals filed by five states whose same-sex marriage bans have been struck down in lower courts; that means the bans remain off the books, and marriage equality is in effect in these states.
The ruling has obvious implications for the fate of other marriage equality suits still pending in lower courts. By rejecting these appeals, the high court has indicated that for now it’s not interested in delving into the matter.
That displeased the Religious Right. Leaders of several groups and their political allies reacted to yesterday’s news with predictable fury; they seem convinced that the court’s failure to act heralds a new age of moral decline.
The Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins issued a statement making a series of bizarre predictions.
“The Court decision ensures that the debate over natural marriage will continue and the good news is that time is not on the side of those who want to redefine marriage,” Perkins blustered. “As more states are forced to redefine marriage, contrary to nature and directly in conflict with the will of millions, more Americans will see and experience attacks on their religious freedom. Parents will find a wedge being driven between them and their children as school curriculum is changed to contradict the morals parents are teaching their children. As more and more people lose their livelihoods because they refuse to not just tolerate but celebrate same-sex marriage, Americans will see the true goal, which is for activists to use the Court to impose a redefinition of natural marriage on the entire nation.”
He added, “Congress should respond to today's announcement by moving forward with the State Marriage Defense Act, which is consistent with last year's Windsor ruling and ensures that the federal government in its definition of marriage respects the duly enacted marriage laws of the states.”
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) expressed similar sentiments on its official Twitter account, where it called for a new constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.
“It is critical not only to marriage but to the republican form of government to amend the Constitution to reaffirm the meaning of #marriage,” it declared. A later tweet promised, “NOM will continue to devote all our energy & resources to stand for the truth of marriage, and to advocate the importance of preserving it.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has already announced intentions to propose such an amendment in the Senate – where it will almost certainly wither. In Oklahoma, one of the states where marriage equality is now the law, Gov. Mary Fallin (R) was highly perturbed.
“The will of the people has now been overridden by unelected federal justices, accountable to no one,” Fallin said in a statement. “That is both undemocratic and a violation of states' rights. Rather than allowing states to make their own policies that reflect the values and views of their residents, federal judges have inserted themselves into a state issue to pursue their own agendas.” (States rights? Hmmm. Where have we heard that one before?)
Other groups stopped short of recommending specific legislative remedies. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) contented itself with a strongly worded statement on the matter. Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo and Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco said the high court’s act“fails to resolve immediately the injustice of marriage redefinition” and added, “Our young people need encouragement to embrace the gift and responsibility of marriage as it truly is – a permanent, faithful, and fruitful gift of self between a man and a woman.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) restricted itself to an even terser response of a mere three sentences: “The court’s decision not to take up this issue now means that the marriage battle will continue. Several federal courts – including those in the 5th, 6th, 8th, and 11th circuits – still have cases working their way to the Supreme Court. ADF will continue to remain a leader in the critical effort for the freedom of the people. The people should decide this issue, not the courts.”
However, at least one of marriage equality’s most diligent opponents appears to have conceded the battle. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose activists are largely responsible for bringing California’s doomed Prop. 8 into force announced, “As far as civil law is concerned, the courts have spoken.”
The Mormons have it right. While it’s impossible to say with reasonable confidence that the war for marriage equality has been won, it seems the long arc of the moral universe does indeed bend toward justice.
And this victory isn’t limited to the courts. Contrary to what the ADF, the USCCB, and the FRC claimed yesterday, recent polls have consistently shown that most Americans now support marriage equality; 55 percent, in fact, according to a May Gallup poll. Same-sex marriage bans may have reflected the will of the people years ago, but that’s no longer the case. And even if they did, the courts have a responsibility to enforce the Constitution in spite of popular opinion.
It looks you've lost, values voters. Pack it up.