Marriage Endures Supreme Court Decisions

By Cathi Herrod, President, Center for Arizona PolicyThe key message for Arizonans from the U.S. Supreme Court is this: Your right to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman is preserved.It’s important to note that the Court did not find a Constitutional right to same-sex "marriage."Here are the facts:

• Defense of Marriage Act - The Court struck down DOMA as violating the Fifth Amendment in a 5-4 decision, with Justice Kennedy writing the majority opinion.
• California's Proposition 8 - The Court ruled that the defendants of Prop 8 did not have standing to argue before the Court, and therefore remanded the case back to Federal District Court and vacated the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision in a 5-4 decision with Chief Justice Roberts writing the majority opinion.

Though Center for Arizona Policy disagrees with aspects of the Court’s decision, we are grateful that the Court did not undermine the will of Arizona voters who strongly supported our state’s 2008 marriage amendment.In DOMA, CAP believes that the court erred in claiming that a state that has redefined marriage can force that definition on the federal government for purposes of federal marriage laws.In Prop 8, the court has ensured that the state-by-state debate about marriage is allowed to continue. Truly the debate over marriage has just begun.Marriage is more than just a personal promise, it serves a public purpose. It is society’s best guarantee of a limited government that stays out of family life. Social science data has proved this time and time again.Center for Arizona Policy is committed to continuing to stand for marriage and to defeat any efforts to redefine this essential union.