Gay marriage - Summaries (I)

ESL 5301-001 – Gay marriage
Summaries

1. Summary about gay marriages (ESL 5301-001)

An article in USA Today dated 18th July 2015” discusses the outcome of a poll conducted among Americans by AP-gfk, a market research institute, following the landmark ruling of the US Supreme Court authorizing the same-sex marriage. According to the poll, the support for the legalization of same-sex marriage slightly declined following the court order. In addition to the overall consensus among the American population, the poll also covered some of the key issues such as rights of the people with religious beliefs to deny marriage certificate to same-sex couples and rights of the people in wedding related businesses to refuse services to gay couples. It can be seen from the results that the entire American population is evenly split among the issues with almost equal number of people in favor and against the issues. The poll also highlighted that political orientation of the people played a key role in their opinion about the court sentence, with the majority of Democrats supporting same-sex marriage and protection of gay rights. (Sriram)

Polls shows slight dip in gay marriage support since Supreme Court ruling. (2015, July 18th). USA Today. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/18/ap-poll-sharp-divisions-after-high-court-backs-gay-marriage/30341661/.
 
2. Summary

The approval of the law about same-sex marriage is far from relieving the social pressure in relation to gay’s life. In many states this news was received with happiness and soon they be prepared for this new scheme. Other states have had a protagonist role in cases of rejection.

For a couple of Massachusetts the complete process has been happiness. They filled some forms, the clerk reviewed the documents and after paying $10 they only will need to wait four days to receive the license (Lat, 2015). “The process couldn’t have been easier. We thanked our lucky stars that we’re not trying to get married in Hood County, Texas,” said the couple.

Effectively, in states like Texas or Kentucky troubles are far from finishing. The most famous case is related to the County Clerk Kim Davis who, defying the Supreme Court´s decision, rejected five marriage licenses (Tashman, 2015a). Davis is part of a small group of county clerks for whom the divine law is over their responsibilities as public officials. Last week, before of the rejection of the U.S. Supreme Court of the Kentucky decisions, Davis said “I think that’s a travesty to think that just because he don’t see it this way or his opinion is to let same-sex marriage go and it’s all right that us as Christians, we as Christians just don’t have rights anymore? That’s wrong sir. That’s not right” (Tashman, 2015b).

The approved law implies consequences that transcend the states. Churches, for example, could be exposed to legal actions if they refuse to perform gay weddings. A new Bill will be considered during the 2016 session (Gryboski, 2015). The objective is to offer legal protection for any church or ministry who refused to perform a same-sex wedding. Several states have already taken decisions in a way to protect clergy and clerks against the pressure to choose between the law and their moral objections. (Elliot)

Lat, D. (2015, August 18). Should town and county clerks opposed to gay marriage be required to issue marriage licenses to all couples? Above the Law. http://abovethelaw.com/2015/08/should-town-and-county-clerks-opposed-to-gay-marriage-be-required-to-issue-marriage-licenses-to-all-couples/

Tashman, B. (2015a, September 1). Kentucky clerk denies marriage license to gay couple for 5th time, cites 'God's authority'. Right Wing Watch. http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kentucky-clerk-denies-marriage-license-gay-couple-5th-time-cites-gods-authority

Tashman, B. (2015b, August 26). Kentucky clerk says he may die fighting gay marriage. Right Wing Watch.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kentucky-clerk-says-he-may-die-fighting-gay-marriage#sthash.AsRB2zpe.dpuf

Gryboski, M. (2015, August 12). Florida may protect religious groups that oppose gay marriage. The Christian Post.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/florida-may-protect-religious-groups-that-oppose-gay-marriage-142690/.
 
3. Summary

According to Emily W. Pettus in the Daily Journal, same-sex couples and two gay rights groups in Jackson, Mississippi, are making legal moves to stop enforcement of a Mississippi law that bans same-sex couples from adopting children.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has clearly expressed his strong opposition to adoption by same-sex couples, although the couples who have filed the case refer to one of his speeches about the importance of having a “mature, two-parent family.” They claim that this could be further fulfilled by allowing same-sex couples to adopt children.

After reversing bans by Florida and Michigan, Mississippi stands as the last state to have such law.

Earlier in 2013, Donna Phillips and Jan Smith, who have filed the case, have got married out of Mississippi as the state used to ban same-sex marriage at that time until the Supreme Court made it legal nationwide in June, 2015.

According to Jan and Donna, the adoption ban law makes their life much more difficult by complicating simple events such as registering their child at a public school.

Also, according to the plaintiffs, the adoption ban law might in fact put the child at risk as it prevents both parents in a couple from participating in taking decisions related to emergency medical needs.

The Democrat former Governor Ronnie Musgrove has expressed his regrets to sign the adoption ban law several years ago. (Muhammad)

Pettus, E. (2015, August 28). Judge is asked to block ban on adoption by gay couples. Daily Journal. Retrieved September 1, 2015, from http://djournal.com/news/judge-asked-block-ban-adoption-gay-couples/

4. Summary and reference

In the report of “Defiant Kentucky clerk summoned to federal court over gay marriage refusal”, the author makes a follow up to the story development. As what it mentioned, Davis, a Kentucky clerk, refused to give same-sex couples the marriage licenses last month because of religious reason. As a Christian, Davis regards the decision to support the homosexual marriage as challenging God’s authority. After the news was reported, many of the supporters and critics come to the county clerk’s office to show their voice. However, even under the risk of jail or fines penalties, Davis still stands firmly on her decision. Liberty Counsel is represents Davis, suggesting that other than forcing her to obey the law, there are other ways to get the problems solved. Their recommendations include putting someone else to issue the license or simplifying the license process in terms of online application. (Jieying Wu)

Reference:

Holpuch, Amanda. (2015, September 1). Defiant Kentucky clerk summoned to federal court over gay marriage refusal. The Guardian. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/01/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-same-sex-marriage-supreme-court


5. Summary

On Thursday, the CNN news mentioned that an appellate court ruled against Phillips, who is a Colorado Bakery shop owner. The reason is because Phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. He said that he refused to make the cake because of his religion. Unlike the appellate court, Tedesco, Phillips' attorney, told CNN that, ”government has a duty to protect people's freedom to follow their beliefs ‘rather than force them to adopt the government's views.’”

Phillips supported Tedesco’s idea when he said, “the Constitution guarantees me the right to practice my faith, my religion anywhere, anytime. There are no restrictions on it. It also gives me the right to free speech anytime, anywhere. I don't surrender those rights when I open my doors." (Samah)

Reference:

Hanna, J. (2015, August 13). CNN. Retrieved on August 13, 2015 from http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/13/us/colorado-same-sex-wedding-cake/index.html
 
6. Summary

The state of Mississippi forbade adoption by the same sex couple by the law which came to be effective in 2000. Right now Mississippi is the only state in the US, which forbids adoption by same sex couples even after the legalization of same sex marriage by the Supreme Court on 26 June 2015. As per the article, in the year 2014, 29 percent of the same sex couples in Mississippi are raising children younger than 18 years. This law prohibits recognizing both parents as legal, and allows only one of the parents to be the legal one. If something happens to the legal parent the other parent will not have any kind of legal authority on the kid. The author of this article narrates the problems faced by a same sex couple who adopted a girl in Mississippi, and one of them happened to be in the military. The parent in the military is the legal parent of the little girl, and the other parent has no legal authority over the kid. They are worried because the legal parent might have to go to combat any time, and if something happens, then the other parent will not have any kind of legal right on the kid. This can affect the future of the kid. Now this couple already filed a case to abolish this rule. The author also points out that the legal expert who is handling this case is very confident that she will win the case. She is confident because the Supreme Court has already legalized same sex marriages, and also, a recent ruling by United States District Court states that Mississippi’s rule on banning adoptions by same sex couple is unconstitutional. The author also points out that the former Mississippi governor who signed this rule on banning adoptions by same sex couples 15 years ago based on the religious beliefs now thinks that this rule is not right. He also thinks that a person’s sexual orientation has nothing to do his or her ability to be a good parent. Now many more same sex couples in Mississippi are waiting to go for adoptions and waiting for the final verdict. (Sankar)

Reference

Lewin, T. (2015, August 12). Mississippi Ban on Adoptions by Same-Sex Couples Is Challenged. The New York Times. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/us/mississippi-ban-on-adoptions-same-sex-couples-challenged.html?ref=topics&_r=0
 
7. Summary: gay marriage

More and more people are interested in gay marriage in the world. In this article written by The Associated Press called “Kentucky Clerk Asks Supreme Court to Intervene in Gay Marriage Case”, the author told the news that the U.S. Supreme Court is being asked by a Kentucky county clerk for permission to not give marriage licenses to same-sex couples after it legalized gay marriage nationwide. Firstly, to deny giving the gay marriage license is because of the religious reasons. Second, the clerk thought that the couples can get the marriage license through another way, such as drive to a nearby county to get the license. Then, the author indicated that the guys also have the right to get the marriage license in their own county. Thirdly, the author said that the clerk also may be impeached instead of being fired, although she refused to give the marriage license for the couple because this also is her right. (SongHe)

Reference:

The Associated Press. (2015.Aug).Kentucky Clerk Asks Supreme Court to Intervene in Gay Marriage Case. Retrieved from: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-clerk-asks-supreme-court-intervene-gay-marriage-case-n418056

8. Summary

Mississippi’s law banning adoption of same-sex couples is being sued to be denied by four lesbian couples. The court said that only the plaintiffs, the four couples, would be affected by the preliminary injunction. The couples mentioned in the words of Republican Gov. Phil Bryant that he prefers a “two-parent family” for all children; although on the contrary, Phil Bryant was against same-sex couples’ adoption. Donna Phillips and Jan Smith, the plaintiffs having a daughter who is legally Donna’s child, said how hard it was to provide for a girl without legal adoption. Because they lived in Smith’s house and the girl is Phillips’s daughter, Smith had to make a renting agreement every year to Phillips in order to have the girl be inside the school distinct. (Ariyawat)

Pettus , Emily Wagster. (2015, August 28). Judge is asked to block ban on adoption by gay couples. Djournal. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from
http://djournal.com/news/judge-asked-block-ban-adoption-gay-couples/
 
9. Summary

In the recent news by USA Today, the author mentions that despite gay marriage being made legal, there are still issues relating to gay adoption rights in many states. It has been highlighted that for a gay couples, adopting children from foster care has proved to be difficult in many states. There are some states which have altered their laws and are allowing not only gay marriages but also the adoption of children from foster care; examples being Missouri, Ohio, and North Dakota. The author mentions that on one hand, there are a few states which are waiting for the legislature to make changes in their laws and on the other hand, there are some states which are creating new hurdles to gay adoption due to religious issues. The author also highlights the findings of a recent study which says that living with gay parents does not negatively affect the well-being of a child. Towards the end of the article, she states that gay couples can be easily prioritized and discriminated against during adoption even by the agencies which are required to work with them. (Harnoor)

Reference

Beitsch, R. (2015, August 19). Despite same-sex marriage ruling, gay adoption rights uncertain in some states. USA Today. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/08/19/despite-same-sex-marriage-ruling-gay-adoption-rights-uncertain-some-states/31992309/

10. Summary 01

In “Kentucky Clerk, a Local Fixture, Suddenly Become a National Symbol” by Alan Blinder and Richard Fausset, the authors point out how Ms. Kim Davis, a normal clerk in Rowan County in northeast Kentucky , has been a well-known figure recently. This woman so far has been living all her life in only one place and devoting herself to the county clerk’s office for decades. Last year, she took the job over from her mother as a Democrat county clerk by defeating John Cox, a Republican. Now, her life has totally changed, after she refused to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. She described herself as a pious woman, deeply believing in God’s authority and his definition of a marriage, even though she was just religiously awakened four years ago. Ms. Davis has certainly been facing a considerable number of critics and protests, especially from gay marriage advocates. However, some people praised her defiance and called her a hero for saving a losing traditional culture and standing fast for her belief. (Nam)

Reference:

Blinder, Alan and Fausset, Richard (2015, September 1). Kentucky clerk, a local fixture, suddenly becomes a national symbol. The New York Times. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/us/kentucky-clerk-a-local-fixture-suddenly-becomes-a-national-symbol.html?ribbon-ad-idx=2&rref=us