# Supreme Court \[declines to hear\] same sex marriage cases.\[plus further developments (Ed.)\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 6, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544 "2014-10-06T13:50:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 33
**Author:** ![RagingxMarmoset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@RagingxMarmoset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RagingxMarmoset)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/641 "2015-06-26T19:58:44Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I think our more virulent conservatives are in hiding. Shouldn’t they be happy? All they do is rail against the government for curbing personal freedoms, and here we have one of the greatest victories in our nation’s history for such freedoms. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/642 "2015-06-26T20:19:15Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Ok, I have questions. Aside from a bunch of tax and property issues, are there other advantages a gay person may gain by having a legally recognized marriage? There are literally hundreds of laws that treat married people differently, from birth through death (and beyond, in probate). Many can be contracted around at great expense. Some cannot. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/643 "2015-06-26T20:22:52Z")
> [@RagingxMarmoset](#): > > Shouldn’t they be happy? All they do is rail against the government for curbing personal freedoms, and here we have one of the greatest victories in our nation’s history for such freedoms. If you want sanity and consistency from US conservatives, you’re gonna need a time machine. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/644 "2015-06-26T20:49:49Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Woot! > > [Text of the opinion](http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf) > > Kennedy opinion, so I don’t imagine it’s a well-written, well-reasoned opinion. 4 different dissents from the usual suspects. Not this time; this was well written indeed… [QUOTE=Justice Anthony Kennedy] _No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right._ - \*_It is so ordered._ [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/645 "2015-06-26T20:50:24Z")
Well, let’s see, I am a registered Republican, but I skew liberal on social issues. I’m in favor of gun rights, I don’t have a strong stance on abortion, I think gov’t is too big and our national security too lax. That said, when I got the text that SCOTUS had made this ruling, I immediately trumpeted it joyfully on Facebook. We DO exist, you know. Not all of us fear teh gay. ---
**Author:** ![RagingxMarmoset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@RagingxMarmoset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RagingxMarmoset)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/646 "2015-06-26T21:16:25Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Well, let’s see, I am a registered Republican, but I skew liberal on social issues. > > I’m in favor of gun rights, I don’t have a strong stance on abortion, I think gov’t is too big and our national security too lax. > > That said, when I got the text that SCOTUS had made this ruling, I immediately trumpeted it joyfully on Facebook. > > We DO exist, you know. Not all of us fear teh gay. My apologies. I know most folks with a modicum of common sense support this decision, and I should not have lumped all Republicans into the same pot. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/647 "2015-06-26T21:20:29Z")
> [@RagingxMarmoset](#): > > My apologies. I know most folks with a modicum of common sense support this decision, and I should not have lumped all Republicans into the same pot. True. It’s just the primary voters that are mostly crazy. Well, and the 30 or so percent who think that Obama is a Hitler clone. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/648 "2015-06-26T21:39:07Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I hope that you and Antonin will be very happy. I was hoping for someone a bit more…cut. But who knows what he hides under those robes? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/649 "2015-06-26T21:41:25Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I was hoping for someone a bit more…cut. But who knows what he hides under those robes? Listen, in Mandatory Gaymerica, you take the gay marriage you’re given! ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/650 "2015-06-26T21:52:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Ok, I have questions. Aside from a bunch of tax and property issues, are there other advantages a gay person may gain by having a legally recognized marriage? I highly recommend watching the movie **Bridegroom**. True story about Shane Bitney Crone and Tom Bridgroom, who were a gay couple in California when gay marriage was illegal. Tom died, and his family from Indiana swooped in and took him and all of his possessions back home, and refused to allow Shane to attend the funeral (threatening bodily harm to him if he showed up). The original short form version of the film is at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR9gyloyOjM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR9gyloyOjM) The AGs of Louisiana and Texas have both said gay marriage does not apply to their states. And the county clerk of Pike County, Alabama has shut down all marriage licensing. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/651 "2015-06-26T22:06:50Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Not this time; this was well written indeed… It’s lovely prose. But it’s _awful_ legal writing, and the opinion leaves the status of homosexuals very much in doubt for other purposes. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/652 "2015-06-26T22:19:04Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m pleasantly surprised that no one on this Board seems upset with the decision. Although we’re a pretty smart group, I expected \*some \*dissent. > [@running\_coach](#): > > I think our more virulent conservatives are in hiding. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I’ve noticed that for the last year or so, the conservative attitude on the dope has been a pretty constant “I don’t have any problems with gay marriage myself, I’m just concerned about the legal ramifications, that’s all, I swear.” As this thread began with debating overtones, I am willing to let it sit in this forum as a place for those who choose to celebrate the decision to voice their happiness. However, while a few snide remarks about the political or religious Right are to be expected, snide comments regarding other posters have no business in this thread. Do not use this thread to snark on other posters. Do not use this thread to make snide comments about the political or religious Right that amount to snarking on other posters. Take such comments to a new thread in The BBQ Pit. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/653 "2015-06-26T22:24:20Z")
I have no dog in this fight but there is nothing in those quoted statements that is snide or snarky. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/654 "2015-06-26T22:32:33Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > I have no dog in this fight but there is nothing in those quoted statements that is snide or snarky. Nor did I say they were. (Although your claim that the post by\*\* running coach\*\* was not snide is a bit odd.) I made no assertion that anyone had violated any rules or had even behaved badly. However, those posts indicated a direction in which various comments might lead and I want everyone to keep further comments that would get venomous out of this thread. [/Modding] ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/655 "2015-06-26T22:57:54Z")
[QUOTE=Antonin Gregory Scalia] “But what really astounds is the hubris reflected in today’s judicial Putsch.” [/QUOTE] Was this an opinion written by an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme court or a comment written by a semi-literate recreational-outrage addict under a Daily Mail story? Why is putsch upper case? Because it would be in a Daily Mail comment written by a semi-literate. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/656 "2015-06-26T23:04:21Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Why is putsch upper case? Because it would be in a Daily Mail comment written by a semi-literate. If he is using it as a direct borrowing from the German, it would remain capitalized as a German noun. Do we know whether he italicized the word in the document he prepared? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/657 "2015-06-26T23:26:18Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > If he is using it as a direct borrowing from the German, it would remain capitalized as a German noun. Do we know whether he italicized the word in the document he prepared? It’s in Roman in this pdf: [www. **s**](http://www.%3Cb%3Es%3C/b%3E) **u** premeco **u** [rt.gov/opinion](http://rt.gov/opinion) **s** /14 **pdf** /14-556\_3204. **pdf** ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/658 "2015-06-26T23:41:26Z")
> [@RagingxMarmoset](#): > > What are the potential consequences for jurisdictions or even individuals who refuse to issue a marriage license to same sex couples? Is it an issue that each state will have to handle individually? What happens if a state refuses to issues licenses? In Texas, the counties issue marriage licenses. Apparently the state’s Atty General ordered them to wait for “instructions”–new forms, new software, etc. Many urban counties just proceeded to issue licenses (scratching out irrelevant words), have judges at the ready to dispense with the 72 hour waiting period & start the marrying. By “urban” I include heretofore unsuspected sin cities like Amarillo, Waco & Midland. [Updates at the _Texas Observer_.](http://www.texasobserver.org/supreme-court-upholds-same-sex-marriage/) \*One problem area: \* > [@](#): > > **Update at 6:03:** In some corners of the state, same-sex couples were still unable to get married today despite the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling. > > Tyler resident D. Karen Wilkerson was feeling a mix of happiness and anger this afternoon after she said Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips refused to issue a marriage license to her and partner Jolie Smith. > > The couple tried again this afternoon, but was turned down a second time. They now have a team of attorneys working to file a writ in federal court to compel the county clerk to act, Wilkerson said. The couple could have married elsewhere but they can afford “a team of attorneys”–which will help the less affluent gays of Tyler. The Republican County Clerk here in Harris County dragged her feet but she was confronted by a lawyer & relented. The article also tells of plans to avoid the ruling by folks like our truly horrid Lite Gov, Dan Patrick. They will try to cause trouble but it’s really a bit late to lock the stable door… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/659 "2015-06-26T23:42:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It’s lovely prose. But it’s _awful_ legal writing, and the opinion leaves the status of homosexuals very much in doubt for other purposes. Yeah, as much as Kennedy (fortunately) tends to fall on our side of the fence in these cases, he’s also infamously reluctant to actually create precedent that sexual orientation falls under any specific level of scrutiny. It’s approaching self-parody. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544/660 "2015-06-27T00:18:53Z")
> [@RagingxMarmoset](#): > > My apologies. I know most folks with a modicum of common sense support this decision, and I should not have lumped all Republicans into the same pot. One of my bookmarked websites (dedicated to health and fitness) posted a lovely picture of a rainbow and “Love Wins.” The comments were either thrilled or horrified. But what got me was the viciousness the posters (who are presumably also members of the website) directed toward each other. Some people said they would quit the site because they considered it political and not appropriate. Others were leaving because the site had shown its “true colors.” But others were telling them stuff like, “Good riddance” and “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” When did we become a society that screams at each other and not one that talks things out? It seems like someone has an opinion and someone else makes a snap judgement and that’s the end of it. No discussion, no interest in trying to understand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-same-sex-marriage-cases-plus-further-developments-ed/700544.md?page=34)