Supreme Court Rulings

Today the Supreme Court ruled on the Defense of Marriage Act.  I sat in the training room and tried to pay attention to the material presented.  But I felt nervous and I wanted to keep checking the internet to see if the decision had been announced.  At our first break -- nothing.  When we dispersed for lunch, I didn't bother looking on the computer.  I got right in my car and turned on public radio and heard the end of the discussion on the Diane Rehm show.  Relief at the verdict.  The ruling was a victory for the couples who will be direct beneficiaries, but also for those of us who believe that legislating discrimination is a really bad practice.

The President put out a statement right afterwards.  I love the last paragraph:

I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act.  This was discrimination enshrined in law.  It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people.  The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it.  We are a people who declared that we are all created equal – and the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. 

This ruling is a victory for couples who have long fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents’ marriages will now be recognized, rightly, as legitimate; for families that, at long last, will get the respect and protection they deserve; and for friends and supporters who have wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and have worked hard to persuade their nation to change for the better. 

So we welcome today’s decision, and I’ve directed the Attorney General to work with other members of my Cabinet to review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for Federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly.

On an issue as sensitive as this, knowing that Americans hold a wide range of views based on deeply held beliefs, maintaining our nation’s commitment to religious freedom is also vital.  How religious institutions define and consecrate marriage has always been up to those institutions.  Nothing about this decision – which applies only to civil marriages – changes that.  

The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts:  when all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free.  

I'm not educated enough on the specifics of the SCOTUS ruling on sections of the Voting Rights Act yesterday.  In my gut, I don't think it was the right decision.  Judging by the number of states who are going ahead with redistricting and punitive voter ID laws, I'm nervous about it.  I don't understand the desire that some have to bar Americans from voting, or making the process so difficult that they give up trying.  I guess the elections in the years to come will tell the story -- have we, as a nation, evolved to where the protections are no longer necessary?  Or, as I fear, is this an opening for those who are motivated by fear and contempt of others not like them, to their fellow citizens from the political process?  Time will tell.

I haven't blogged in a while.  Lots has been happening.  I have tons of pictures.  Soon I will get back into a rhythm of posting.  I need to figure out how to get my pictures off my phone and on to my computer.  But for now, here are a couple of Selim's last day of second grade this past Friday.