Online Photo
After wandering in a limbo like status for months, gay marriage is now legal in Oklahoma. On Oct. 6 the U.S. Supreme Court denied Oklahoma’s appeal to overturn the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision on gay marriage, meaning their decision stands. Same-sex couples can now be issued marriage licenses in Oklahoma.
The case dates back nearly a decade. The decision to overturn Oklahoma’s ban on gay marriage from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver, Colorado, was reached July 18. However, the decision was immediately put on hold, pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.
“I believe it is absurd that this was not put on a ballot for constituents of the state to vote on,” sophomore Coby Poole said. “The government should not taken it upon themselves to decide that this is okay.”
Two Tulsa couples—Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin and Gay Phillips and Susan Barton—brought the original challenge of Oklahoma’s ban in November 2004. They challenged Oklahoma’s ban on gay marriage, in addition to the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Ten years later, the district court finally issued its opinion.
Dozens of couples were headed to courthouses and churches, mere minutes after the decision was decided. Baldwin and Bishop were the second to receive a same-sex marriage license from the state of Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Daily article “Plaintiff in Oklahoma same-sex marriage began fight for equality at OU” tells their story.
“You know, the attitude from 2004 has really shifted. Public sentiment is just so far ahead of where it was a decade ago, and we see that in everything from comments on news stories, to just people’s reactions to us,” Baldwin said in the article. “It’s light years different.”
Tim Rhodes is the county clerk for Oklahoma County, and said this is the first time in history marriage licenses have been issued regardless of gender.
“It’s always been a requirement of Oklahoma law, as far as I know, and certainly as long as I’ve been court clerk, that our applicants must be of opposite gender,” Rhodes said. “So that’s very significant that that requirement is no longer in the law.”
The NewsOK article “Same-sex marriage now is legal in Oklahoma,” provides the results of a survey from Williams Institute at the University of California School of Law, which said there are more than 6,100 cohabitating same-sex couples in Oklahoma, raising over 2,500 children.
Proponents of same-sex marriage believe that denying marriage certificates to gay couples is discriminating against one group of people. Others disagree.
“Because gay marriage, while being illegal in some states, is legal in others,” Poole said. “Thus, it is not discrimination for certain states to choose not to have it.”
Illinois, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin had pending decisions in court and are also affected by the decision.
In 2004, 76 percent of Oklahoma citizens voted against legalizing same-sex marriage. The fact that the courts overturned a majority of Oklahoma citizens’ votes prompted Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin to voice her criticism on the Supreme Court’s handling of the case.
Fallin issued a statement reading, “The will of the people has now been overridden by unelected federal justices, accountable to no one. That is both undemocratic and a violation of states’ rights,” in the NewsOK article.
The Supreme Court’s decision to not hear the appeals brought the total states where gay marriage is legal up to 26, plus Washington D.C.
“I’m not against gays as a life choice, but I do not agree that same-sex marriage should be legal,” senior Hannah Huber said.
The Supreme Court has not made a decision of legalizing same-sex marriage across the country.
0
0
Be First to Comment