On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states. It was a 5-4 decision. The judge who was basically the deciding factor in which way this ruling would go was Justice Anthony Kennedy. The four who voted against same-sex marriage were Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito, and Chief Justice John Roberts.
When it hit the news that gay marriage was now legal in all fifty states, the country erupted. It went both ways. Many were in favor and many were opposed to the idea of allowing people to marry who they choose. I personally don’t see a problem with it. If you loved someone that didn't love you back and this affects it, then don’t be offended. They aren't just not attracted to you, it’s your entire gender. So you probably were never gonna get the chance anyways. For example, a gay man is not attracted to every single straight man, so therefore, straight men should not feel threatened by a gay man’s preferences. The same also goes for women. Heterosexual relationships go the same way, meaning every man is not attracted to every woman, and every woman isn to attracted to every man. Overall, marriage should solely be about love and not gender. So if you’re a guy and love a guy, or you're a girl who loves a girl, why should that affect me. Yeah it’s different (in a way) and you may not be used to seeing it, but you’re gonna be seeing it more so get used to it. You really aren't in a position to tell people what they can and can’t do.
Once the word got out that this was now legal, the internet really blew up. All of a sudden Facebook looked like a Crayola crayon factory exploded because everyone changing their profile pictures to have rainbows covering them. Along with that, statuses upon statuses were being posted, from friends to families to celebrities and companies. Musicians, actors and actresses, politicians, radio stations, everyone was coming out of the woodworks to agree (from what I saw) that the country made the right choice. It now seemed that it was the right choice and everyone was taking the news very well.
One group who goes without saying that is against it is the Westboro Baptist Church. You don’t need to search and look up their views on this whole thing. They've been against every major news headliner from the shooting in North Carolina to the tragedies at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Fortunately, there have been some groups of people who have attempted to silence or atleast muffle their voice. Some of these groups you wouldn't expect to be such nice groups because of their past. Hells Angels and Anonymous, the group who hacked the government, are among groups who have helped to put a stop to protests led by the Westboro Baptist Church.
The National Football League also is skeptical about the situation. For example, Michael Sam was the first openly gay NFL football player. He was a Defensive End drafted by the Saint Louis Rams, and being openly gay caused a lot of controversy. This made many players uncomfortable because of situations where they may be in contact with a gay player, whether it be openly gay or closeted.s
Everything that has to do with same-sex marriage being legal in all fifty states is revolutionary and a step in the right direction. It’s crazy that in just a few years it went from being legal in one state and then legal in thirty seven before the ruling, and now legal in all fifty. The ruling had “nothing to do with the Constitution” according to Chief Justice John Roberts. Along with the states legalizing this, all the territories were included with it, making the United States the twenty first country to legalize same sex marriage. Same sex couples will now have the same rights and benefits as heterosexual couples, and it will also be recognized on official documents such as birth and death certificates. In conclusion, I believe that gay marriage being legalized was the right choice. No one should be in charge of someone’s personal preferences like that, regarding to who they can or can’t marry. I agree with the legalization and am happy America can now move forward and solve more important problems rather than who can marry who.
Works Cited
"Map: Same-sex Marriage in the United States." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
"Supreme Court Declares Same-Sex Marriage Legal In All 50 States." <i>NPR</i>. NPR, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.
"Supreme Court Rules States Must Allow Same-sex Marriage - CNNPolitics.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.
You made some really good points. One part I got confused at was, "If you loved someone that didn't love you back and this affects it, then don’t be offended." It just seemed a little wordy for me to try and decipher. I could definitely picture everything you were saying that related to what we were seeing on social medias. Comparing Facebook to a Crayola Crayon factory had me laughing, that was a good one! You definitely had good, credible sources, and informed me with some of the information you talked about with the judges and weighing votes. I did not really look into the whole situation before, when it came out that gay marriage was legal, I was just like "ok, cool". I didn't watch the news, or read the posts/articles about it, so I definitely appreciated your blog to just fill me in on the information. I thought you did a great job, and again made really good points. I agree that people should marry who they want to, it does not affect us personally like you said, so why should it matter?! Great job!
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