In January, U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade invalidated Alabama’s bans on same-sex marriage, holding that they violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Plainsman wrote an editorial in response (“War Equal makes its way to Alabama”) praising her reasoning and imploring state officials to not appeal the ruling. Ultimately, the Supreme Court affirmed Granade’s rationale in its ruling striking down such bans in all fifty states.
That’s why it was so surprising to read the editorial in this week’s Plainsman criticizing the Supreme Court for not leaving the debate over same-sex marriage to the voters of individual states.
In 1967, the Supreme Court invalidated state bans on interracial marriage. At the time, less than 10% of Americans approved of such relationships.
Had the matter been put to a vote, it would have surely been rejected in just about every state. Indeed, it wasn’t until 2000 – 33 years later – that Alabamians removed language barring interracial marriage from our state constitution.
Likewise, while there is far more support nationwide for same-sex marriage today (approximately 60%) than there was for interracial marriage when such bans were found unconstitutional, many analysts predict that it will take until 2024 for there to be majority support for same-sex marriage in Mississippi, the last state projected to cross that threshold.
Constitutional rights should not be denied or even delayed at the whim of a majority.
While I agree states should retain their Tenth Amendment right to define marriage and other issues that the federal constitution is silent on, when those definitions violate other precepts of the constitution, courts are correct in striking them down.
If not, we would still be arguing over desegregation and interracial marriage today, and the fight over the legality of same-sex marriage would have no end in sight.
Will Youngblood is a junior at Auburn University in Pre-Social Science General Education.
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