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发帖数: 3449 | 1 http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/26/politics/texas-same-sex/
CNN) -- Texas on Wednesday became the latest state to have a federal judge
strike down its same-sex marriage ban, thanks to a sweeping decision holding
that its current prohibition has no "legitimate governmental purpose."
The ruling, by San Antonio-based Judge Orlando Garcia, will not take effect
immediately: Its enforcement has been stayed while the case works its way
through the appeal process, meaning same-sex couples in Texas cannot get
married for the time being.
Still, gay rights supporters and activists believe the judgment -- because
of what it says, how it follows similar rulings in other states and where it
happened, in one of the most conservative states in the country -- has
special significance.
Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa called Wednesday "a
historic day for the LGBT community and the state of Texas," while the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's head predicted the ruling "hastens the
day when all loving couples who simply want the ability to share the
benefits and responsibilities of marriage can."
Victor Holmes, one of the four plaintiffs that brought the lawsuit, pumped
his fist in the air and cried "woo hoo!" in reaction to what he called "an
awesome first step."
"Growing up, (with) my mom and dad, I envied their marriage because I really
didn't think that I would be able to have something like that," Holmes, a
23-year U.S. Air Force veteran, said alongside his partner Mark Phariss. "
And now ... reading that decision, it really was the first time I realized
that, yeah, I can."
Those on the other side of the debate, meanwhile, are promising to keep
fighting.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said his office will challenge the ruling
, which would be heard by a federal appeals court in New Orleans. The
Republican is running for governor, with early primary voting now in full
swing and the full primary election set for March 4.
"The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled over and over again that states have the
authority to define and regulate marriage," said Abbott. "The Texas
Constitution defines marriage as between one man and one woman."
Gov. Rick Perry, who is not running for re-election, offered even more
forceful remarks, insisting that the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
"guarantees Texas voters the freedom" to decide on the parameters for
marriage.
"Texans spoke loud and clear by overwhelmingly voting to define marriage as
a union between a man and a woman ..., and it is not the role of the federal
government to overturn the will of our citizens," said Perry, an outspoken
conservative who ran for president in 2012. "... This is yet another attempt
to achieve via the courts what couldn't be achieved at the ballot box."
In November 2005, Texas became the 19th state to adopt a constitutional
amendment banning gay marriage. Whether homosexual couples should be allowed
to wed like heterosexual ones was a hot-button issue then and in subsequent
years, with polls showing that most Americans favored restrictions.
But public opinion shifted over time. A CNN/ORC International survey last
June found a majority -- 55% -- of Americans back same-sex marriage, up 11
percentage points from 2008.
A total of 17 states now allow such legal unions, due to actions by voters,
state courts or their legislatures. Federal courts have also helped move the
needle on the issue, especially over the past year.
The most significant such move came last June, when the Supreme Court
rejected parts of the Defense of Marriage Act while ruling same-sex spouses
legally married in a state may receive federal benefits. The justices didn't
go as far as saying that all states must allow such marriages to take place
within their borders, but a number of lower federal courts have since
stepped in to the fray.
Federal judges have ruled that gay marriage bans in Virginia, Kentucky,
Oklahoma and Utah violate the U.S. Constitution.
Judge Garcia echoed his colleagues Wednesday with respect to Texas, saying
that "equal treatment of all individuals under the law is not merely an
aspiration it is a constitutional mandate."
"(The Texas law) is unconstitutional because, without a rational
relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose, it denies same-sex
couples the benefits, dignity and value of celebrating marriage and having
their out-of-state marriage recognized," the judge said.
In his ruling, Garcia raised notable arguments from some supporters of same-
sex marriage bans: that allowing such unions would hurt children raised in
them, that it would stifle procreation and that it "could lead to the
recognition of bigamy, incest, pedophilia and group marriage."
The judge then shot down the defense's case. "Procreation is not and has
never been a qualification for marriage" and "tradition, alone, cannot form
a rational basis for a law."
Texas has "the 'unquestioned authority' to regulate and define marriage,"
but only "in a way that does not infringe on an individual's constitutional
rights," Garcia added.
"It is clear that (the four plaintiffs) suffer humiliation and
discriminatory treatment under the law on the basis of their sexual
orientation, and this stigmatic harm flows directly from Texas' ban on same-
sex marriage," the judge wrote. "(Texas' law also) causes needless
stigmatization and humiliation for children being raised by the loving same-
sex couples being targeted."
After the ruling, all the key players acknowledged the fight isn't over.
Ultimately, it may fall to the Supreme Court to decide whether the gay
marriage bans in Texas and a host of other states are legal under the U.S.
Constitution.
For now, though, the Texas plaintiffs are celebrating. Phariss says the
courts' decision "are going to put an end" to stories like his as a
youngster, going to bed "knowing they're gay and praying that they won't
wake up."
That sentiment was echoed by Nicole Dimetman, who is raising a child with
her partner and fellow plaintiff Cleopatra De Leon.
"It's a huge victory for us, but it is also a victory for young people that
don't have to go through the process that we all went through growing up --
of daring to dream," Dimetman told reporters. "They will have the same
dreams from the time that they're little that their parents had. And I think
that that's amazing." |
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