In honor of July 4th next week we’ll be kicking off a new series called “My America.” All week long, we’ll be talking with influential Americans about what patriotism and America means to them.
Since 1996, Gallup has been polling Americans about gay marriage. In the past, the majority of their respondents were opposed to it being legally recognized. But last month, for the first time, the majority of respondents said they were in favor of gay marriage being legalized. Why are Americans changing their minds?
President Barack Obama declared the Defense Of Marriage Act unconstitutional yesterday, and ordered the Justice Department to no longer defend it. The act, which was signed into law in by President Bill Clinton back in 1996, barred any federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Reactions were split between Democrats and Republicans. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), said, "while Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending the president will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation."
The marriage of same-sex couples is on hold again in California while the Ninth Circuit Court prepares to hear an appeal by the backers of Prop 8. Those who supported the ballot initiative, which led to the banning of same-sex unions in the state, are challenging a judge's recent decision that found the ban unconstitutional.
The United States is not the first country to discuss these issues, and other countries have experience we might be able to learn from when considering same-sex unions. Back in 2001, The Netherlands became the first country to legalize gay marriage. We speak with an author who traveled there to document how marriage affected Dutch gay couples and wider Dutch society.
This week, we discuss two big stories, each of which considers the original intent of the 14th Amendment. Known as the "Reconstruction Amendment," as it passed in the aftermath of the Civil War, this clause of the Constitution guarantees U.S. citizenship for anyone born in the United States. It prohibits state governments from depriving anyone of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law," and mandates "equal protection of the laws" for all citizens.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in California ruled Proposition 8, the voter-backed ballot measure to prohibit same-sex marriage, unconstitutional based on "due process" and "equal protection" grounds: both clauses in the 14th Amendment.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, several Republican senators are proposing to repeal or change the Amendment. They say we should no longer automatically give citizenship to American-born children of illegal immigrants.
A federal judge has overturned Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The measure passed with 52 percent of votes in November 2008. Yesterday, Judge Vaughn Walker ruled it unconstitutional on 14th Amendment grounds of due process and equal protection under the law.
In a decision that ran more than 100 pages, Judge Vaughn Walker stated that "Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same-sex couples."
Closing arguments are scheduled for today in a federal trial that will address the constitutionality of Proposition 8 - the controversial amendment to California's constitution that reinstated a ban on gay marriage in the state in 2008, after it had been legal for some months.
Later this morning, Washington, D.C.'s marriage equality law goes into effect, allowing the city’s gay and lesbian citizens to legally apply for marriage licenses. Some officials expect as many as 200 people to decend on City Hall to apply. In the political battle leading up to passing the local legislation, some interesting alliances were formed.
The fight over gay marriage resumes in California today with Perry v. Schwarzenegger ... and you may be able to watch it on YouTube, tonight. Two same sex-couples are suing the enforcers of California's Proposition 8 on grounds that the gay marriage ban violates their federal constitutional rights. This might lay the groundwork for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The trial will be the first federal court case in the U.S. to be broadcast on YouTube. Kenji Yoshino, professor of law at New York University, has been following the case.
The New York Times' Marcus Mabry and the BBC's Rob Watson join us to look ahead to what's coming up this week: diplomatic developments with North Korea, a brouhaha over comments Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made in 2008 about then-candidate Obama, and a federal court begins hearing a challenge to Proposition 8, which explicitly denies same-sex couples from marrying in California.
Mexico City lawmakers Monday voted to legalize same-sex marriage in the capitol – a move that would also give same-sex couples the ability to adopt children. It was a stunning move in a conservative Catholic nation. Ioan Grillo is Mexico Correspondent for Time Magazine; he reports on the reaction in Mexico City and throughout the nation.
A judge blocked Latin America's first gay marriage at the last minute today in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The last-minute reversal highlights the divided opinion on gay marriage in predominantly Catholic Latin American culture. We get the latest from BBC’s South America correspondent, Candace Piette, live from Buenos Aires.
On Tuesday, Maine voters headed to the polls and reversed the state legislature's decision to permit gay marriage. Maine is the third state in the country where voters repealed a legislature-granted law allowing same-sex marriage, and the 31st state to ban gay marriage outright. We ask Columbia University law professor Suzanne Goldberg, director of the Gender and Sexuality Law Program, if this repeal is part of a larger national trend. We also speak with Jill Barkley, a resident of Portland, Me., who was planning to marry her partner next summer; and to Andrew McLean, a gay man in Portland, Me., who volunteered with Equality Maine.
Voters in Maine voted yesterday to revoke gay marriage in the state. Opponents of gay marriage frequently bring up the hypothetical effects of gay parenting on kids as a reason to deny gay couples the right to marry. At this point we don't have to rely on hypotheticals, however: We now have a generation of kids who have grown up with gay parents and can speak for themselves. One of those kids, Becca Lazarus, tells us about her life with two gay dads, while New York Times Motherlode writer Lisa Belkin explains the results of recent research.
"Question 1" on Tuesday's ballots in Maine, much like last year's "Proposition 8" in California, would explicitly revoke recently granted marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in Maine if it passes. The initiative asks:
"Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?"
Abby Goodnough, from The New York Times, gives us an overview of the initiative and its national significance. We're also joined by Shenna Bellows, from Maine's ACLU; and Brian Souchet, from the anti-gay-marriage group Stand for Marriage Maine.
Comedian Baratunde Thurston on 'How to Be Black'
Today's Takeaway: Focus on Violence Syria
Today's Takeaway: Big Night for Rick Santorum
In-Depth Look at the Situation in Syria
'Tebow Bill' May Allow Home-Schoolers to Play on High School Teams
Newly-Discovered Recordings Shed Light on a Young Malcolm X
Today's Takeaway: Multi-Billion Dollar Foreclosure Settlement Imminent
Is Our Constitution Out of Date?
Multi-Billion Dollar Foreclosure Settlement Imminent
Contraception Coverage Draws Criticism from Catholic Bishops
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