Over the Rainbow: - Wrestling With Angels
Over the Rainbow: - Wrestling With Angels
Over the Rainbow: - Wrestling With Angels
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eighty percent of gay-union licenses in Vermont had gone to nonresidents. These civil unions<br />
were marriages in virtually every legal sense except by name. For some <strong>the</strong> marital bliss was<br />
short lived. Town clerks and attorneys shortly received calls about how to terminate a civil<br />
union. Although residency was not required to obtain a civil union, getting out of <strong>the</strong> union<br />
was a little more difficult. The fine print spelled out that a residency of six months was required<br />
by at least one of <strong>the</strong> partners to dissolve a union (Drummond, 2001).<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r states were concerned that gay activists would travel to Vermont, get ‘married’,<br />
return home and sue for legal recognition of <strong>the</strong>ir status. Many states made efforts to protect<br />
marriage from legal assault by passing a state Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as <strong>the</strong><br />
union of a man and a woman (Daniels, 2000).<br />
Following a decision in June of 2003 by <strong>the</strong> U.S. Supreme Court striking down <strong>the</strong> nation’s<br />
sodomy laws, <strong>the</strong> highest court in Massachusetts ruled, 4 to 3, in November of 2003 that<br />
same-sex marriage was permissible under <strong>the</strong> State’s Constitution (Seelye and Elder, 2003).<br />
Promoting a Federal Defense of Marriage Act<br />
The court decisions extending legal rights to gays made many Americans increasingly<br />
uncomfortable with same-sex relations. A growing concern developed about having courts set<br />
social agendas that hadn’t been approved by <strong>the</strong> legislatures. Because of a concern that samesex<br />
marriage activists would encourage federal courts to intervene in <strong>the</strong> debate over marriage<br />
to remove state-law barriers to same-sex marriage, a movement developed in support for an<br />
amendment to <strong>the</strong> U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriages. A New York Times/CBS News poll<br />
in 2003 found that 55 percent of Americans favored an amendment to <strong>the</strong> Constitution that<br />
would allow marriage only between a man and a woman, while 40 percent opposed.<br />
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., with 106 co-sponsors ,introduced a constitutional<br />
amendment in <strong>the</strong> House in May of 2003, although <strong>the</strong> measure in <strong>the</strong> Senate had only a few<br />
supporters. Musgrave said. “… if <strong>the</strong> definition of marriage is to be changed, it should be done<br />
by <strong>the</strong> American people, not four judges in Massachusetts.” President Bush voiced support<br />
saying, ”I will support a constitutional amendment which would honor marriage between a man<br />
and a woman” (Seelye and Elder, 2003).<br />
California Wrestles with Same-Sex Marriage<br />
Same-sex marriage was a contentious issue in California. San Francisco is a cultural center<br />
for gay rights. California also has a large representation of Hispanic Catholics and strong<br />
<strong>Over</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Rainbow</strong>: The Gay Battle for Social Reorganization of America. 2010<br />
Dr. M. L. Coppock<br />
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