The Supreme Court announced  on Friday that it will take up California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that amends the state’s Constitution to ban same sex marriage.  By examining this case, there are a multitude of possible outcomes.  If the ban on gay marriage is found unconstitutional, there could very well be a lift of all of the bans on same sex marriage in the country.  This is the outcome that many progressives are hoping for.

Conversely, even if Proposition 8 is found to be unconstitutional, it may simply result in its overturning in California.  Many would still desire this outcome, as it could result in pressure on other states to legalize same sex marriages. If Proposition 8 were found to be constitutional, states would retain the freedom to decide on homosexuals’ ability to marry.  It would also ban gay marriage in California.

Regardless, we will not find out the Supreme Court’s ruling until June of 2013.

What’s so interesting about Proposition 8 is that, before it was upheld, gay marriage was legal in California.  Proposition 8 essentially took away a right that homosexual citizens already had.

Even though most conservatives simply want to let the states decide, others are staunchly against any legalization of gay marriage.  The objection to a marriage that differs from a traditional one is almost always biblical, but the legal vows in this country by which people abide by are very rarely defined by interpretation of the bible.  No, the objections to homosexual marriage are almost always identified with one’s inability to let go of tradition.  Since the inception of the United States, marriage was between a man and a woman, yet although it was held in a church and done by a priest, religion had little to do with actual marriage.  It has been this way for a decently long time now.  What constitutes actual and legal marriage in this country is that important piece of paper that someone and their fiancé must sign and register with the state.  The morality and bigger message behind the actual marriage may include God in some cases, but it has nothing to do with its logistics and process.  Thus, it is ultimately America’s courts that will decide the rules of marriage, and it is in said courts that equality will be established in matrimony, NOT in a church.

The Declaration of Independence says that, “all men are created equal.”  Being that the very doctrine that we live our life by states that equality exists in all humans, it is absolute infringement on the rights of American citizens that are denied their rights to marriage.  As long as homosexuals in the U.S. do not have access to the same opportunities that others have access to (in this case, marriage), equality cannot truly exist.  The only things that separate those people from the rest are completely arbitrary in hindsight.

A Civil Union is not sufficient, as those organizations are denied the basic rights that a marriage would have.  For example, if a woman is dying, and visitor times are for family members only, this woman’s civil partner cannot be with her, because she is not considered family.

Marriage, in general, is a beautiful thing.  Not because God is giving you his blessing, but because it signifies that two people are so in love that they are willing to give their lives to each other.  And that’s what it comes down to: love.  If there is an innate human emotion involved, then there is no way it is unnatural.  It is unnatural to discriminate against these people for whom they love and something they can’t change.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Parkway School District.