Supreme Court Rulings A Major Victory for LGBTQ Equality, to the Religious Right's Chagrin

Wednesday was a historic day for the American LGBTQ community. on June 26th, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of federal benefits, reports Reuters. Additionally, the court decided that supporters of California's Proposition 8 (which bans same-sex marriage in California) had no legal standing to appeal the federal district court ruling that struck it down. Thus, a lower-court ruling that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional will stand.

The decision was greeted with joy by LGBTQ equality activists, including Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD,; Lambda Legal, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International. Celebrations across the U.S. marked the monumental decision, showing that the struggle for LGBTQ equality has overcome two major hurdles.

Meanwhile, homophobes from the Religious Right are disgusted. And I couldn't be happier.

First, in a June 26th press release, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) expressed "dismay and outrage" at the Supreme Court decision. NOM president Brian Brown lambasted the alleged "miscarriage of justice" which would embolden "corrupt politicians".

"In a miscarriage of justice the US Supreme Court has refused to consider the decision of a single federal court judge to overturn the perfectly legal action of over 7 million California voters who passed Proposition 8 defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman," said Brain Brown, NOM's president. "The Supreme Court's holding that proponents of an initiative had no legal right to appeal ignores California law and rewards corrupt politicians for abandoning their duty to defend traditional marriage laws. It's imperative that Congress continue to preserve the right of states to protect true marriage and refuse to recognize faux marriages performed in other states or countries."

Second, in a statement at the Concerned Women for America website, Penny Nance and Janice Shaw Crouse likened the SCOTUS decision to Roe v. Wade, branding the decision a repudiation of "Judeo-Christian principles that have stood the test of time." 

"The Supreme Court rulings fly in the face of reams of research showing that the best household arrangement for children is a married mom and dad. It contradicts centuries of experience across time and cultures for the best family structure for strong nations. It represents a national experiment in social reconstruction at the expense of our children's futures and the future of America. These decisions repudiate--with a vengeance--the sacred trust of the founders who built this great nation 'under God' and on a foundation of Judeo- Christian principles that have stood the test of time."

>Next, Richard Land, president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary, was similarly bombastic. A June 26th article at Charisma News quoted Land as calling the day "a devastating day for traditional marriage and religious freedom."

"Defining marriage for the American people is way above the Supreme Court’s pay grade," Land claimed. "God created marriage, and He has defined its parameters, regardless of what the majority of Supreme Court justices might think.”

In a statement entitled "Supreme Court's Refusal to Redefine Marriage Nationwide Allows American People to Consider Consequences of Redefinition", the Family Research Council warned that opposition to same-sex marriage would intensify as people "experience the actual consequences of redefining marriage." Regarding the DOMA decision, FRC president Tony Perkins argued that individual states should not be able to "impose" different definitions of marriage on the federal government. Predictably, Perkins asserted that FRC would continue to resist same-sex marriage.

"What is inevitable is that the male and female relationship will continue to be uniquely important to the future of society. The reality is that society needs children, and children need a mom and a dad. We will continue to work to restore and promote a healthy marriage culture, which will maximize the chances of a child being raised by a married mother and father.

PinkNews reports that Chick-fil-A chief operating officer Dan Cathy expressed disappointment on the ruling via Twitter. "Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies," he reportedly tweeted before being deleted.

Finally, former governor Mike Huckabee expressed his grief over the SCOTUS decisions via Twitter.

My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: "Jesus wept."
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 26, 2013

My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: "Jesus wept."
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 26, 2013

It's a new dawn for human rights and equality in the U.S. While the struggle is not over, a major hurdle has been cleared, much to the chagrin of the homophobic Religious Right. We can't let up now!



To read additional commentary, visit the following links.

Salon: Best of the worst: Right-wing responses to the court

Los Angeles Times: Gay marriage opponents caught in a vortex of public opinion 
Media Matters: "Supreme Court Overrules God" And Other Right-Wing Media Reactions To The Marriage Equality Victory