High court rules on two cases on same-sex marriage

Excerpted from "Supreme Court strikes down Defense of Marriage Act," Washington Post, June 26, 2013--The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down as unconstitutional the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that denies federal benefits to same-sex couples who are legally married in the states where they reside. The decision was 5 to 4, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy joining the court’s liberals to form the majority. It did not address the question of whether there was a constitutional right to same-sex marriages.

Excerpted from "Supreme Court clears way for same-sex marriage in California," Washington Post, June 26, 2013 - The Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for same-sex marriages in California, declining to rule on the state’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman. The court ruled 5 to 4 that those who appealed a decision throwing out the constitutional amendment did not have legal standing to proceed. Thus, the Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the case.

Commentary

CMDA CEO David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics): (excerpted from CMA news release): "We as doctors have long recognized that the most important function of marriage is to protect the needs of children--not simply to fulfill the emotional desires of adults.

"The best research shows that children consistently experience the most positive outcomes with a mom and a dad and too often experience negative outcomes in same-sex households¹. When some research has attempted to convince us otherwise, rigorous examination of those studies has uncovered fatal research flaws, most likely the result of presuppositions and political agendas that undermined objectivity².

"Some activists, both in the courts and in public policy, appear intent on forcing people of faith to bow to a new and radical viewpoint that ignores our faith convictions and the testimony of millennia regarding marriage. Such pressure inevitably threatens religious freedom, as same-sex relationship advocates insist that conformity to their ideology trumps First Amendment speech, religious liberty and conscience freedoms.

"The Supreme Court failed to recognize that 'We the people' should decide marriage policy. Activist judges with an agenda have been foisting their views on the people--based not on the original Constitution or the duly registered will of the people--but on what these judges imagine their progressive society should look like. Yet 38 states have affirmed that marriage is between a man and a woman. Regardless of this Court's decision, the debate on marriage will continue.

"We will continue to advocate for marriage and the children protected by marriage."

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1. Thus, it is not simply the presence of two parents, as some have assumed, but the presence of two biological parents that seems to support child development (Child Trends Research Brief after reviewing the literature, June 2002). “Most researchers now agree that together, these studies support the notion that, on average, children do best when raised by their two married biological parents” (Center for Law and Social Policy, May, 2003).

2. Lerner, Robert, Ph.D and Nagai, Althea K., Ph.D. “No Basis: What the Studies Don’t Tell Us About Same-Sex Parenting.”Marriage Law Project, Washington DC. January 2001. “Lerner and Nagai, professionals in the field of quantitative analysis, evaluated 49 empirical studies on same-sex parenting. Lerner and Nagai found at least one fatal research flaw in all of the 49 studies.

Resources
Read full CMA news release
http://www.scotusblog.com
Supreme Court’s Mixed Decision on Marriage - Heritage Foundation
Marriage Matters - Alliance Defending Freedom
CMDA Ethics Statement: Homosexuality
Same-Sex Marriage--Have the Best Interests of Children Been Considered?