How will gay marriage in California affect you?
I want to start this blog out by giving credit where it's due. This all stems from a post by I. B. Le Truth that posed an interesting question I haven't seen addressed in regards to the California Supreme Court decision to allow gay marriage.
While it may seem that gay marriage in California might not affect Missouri, that may not be the case.
My first question has to do with how currently, this is not recognized by the federal government, even though it is considered to be a state issue. Will the state of California decision mean that these 'legally' married people will not even be able to file their taxes together? Whether you agree with gay marriage or not, it seems silly to refer to it as marriage and then not afford them the same rights as a 'normal' married couple.
Next comes the question of how something will be recognized in one state and not another. As posed by Truth, will a person legally married to another person of the same sex in California be able to come to Missouri and legally marry someone of the opposite sex?
Another question is will people who follow California law and become legally married be able to draw a deceased loved ones Social Security death benefits?
One last question as food for thought is 'what about people who get married right now under current law?' If the state were to impose a constitutional ban, would they just become unmarried or would those people be 'grand-fathered' in.
I haven't heard whether there is talk of a constitutional ban, but that is one of the options before those in opposition.
There are soooo many interesting questions that surround this that I don't even know where to start. Again, I'd like to say that I am not supporting a side of the issue, but I do feel like it will push the boundaries of our Constitution to frontiers not yet seen.
I know this is a touchy issue a lot of you won't want to even comment on, but go for it anyways. That's what this blog is for.
Comments
Respond to this blog
Posting a comment requires free registration:
- If you already have an account, follow this link to login
- Otherwise, follow this link to register
At the same time, the action of gay marriage in California doesn't infringe upon our rights. Not even if it happens here. It might change the way we look at marriage as an institution, but it will not take our rights away.
Another interesting point, is that the party most against gay marriage is also the party against big government. I love seeing that kind of irony in both parties. It's that whole 'I don't want this unless it benefits me' thing.