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| Shelby Tauber/Austin American-Statesman/AP Photo |
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Celebrations broke out across the country, including in Austin, Texas, above, on June 26 after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state laws barring same-sex marriage. The court’s 5-4 decision was based on the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equal protection and due process under the law. The decision also cited the 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court ruling that struck down bans on interracial marriage.
The ruling reflects rapidly changing attitudes among working people and others against discriminatory marriage laws that deny equal civil rights to gay couples, as well as widespread opposition to government intrusion into individuals’ private lives. And it advances the fight by the working class against all forms of discrimination. It was just two years ago that the high court ruled the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional because it denied spousal benefits to same-sex couples in the 12 states where their marriages were held to be legal. By the time of the latest Supreme Court decision gay marriage had been legalized in 36 states, encompassing more than 70 percent of the U.S. population. |
| — BRIAN WILLIAMS |