Obama Administartion may ask the Supreme Court to overturn definition of marriage in California

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
2/21/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Gays and lesbians must be 'treated like anyone else under the law,' president says

Gay marriage advocates have long been pushing for U.S. President Barack Obama to weigh in on the Supreme Court's Proposition 8 case in California. The president expressed strong support for Homosexual partnerships being called marriages during his inaugural address. The White House has until Feb. 28 to file a "friend of the court" (Amicus) brief.

Some have interpreted Obama's call for gay rights during his Jan. 21 inaugural address was a signal that he now sees a federal role in redefining marriage.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Obama administration is considering on whether to file an "Amicus" or friend of the court brief in an effort to persuade the Supreme Court to overturn California's defense of marriage and refusal to redefine the institution to include homosexual relationships. If the Court rules against marriage it would advance the homosexual equivalency movement.

Obama raised expectations among opponents of the Proposition 8 - which defends true marriage - when he declared in last month's inaugural address that gays and lesbians must be "treated like anyone else under the law."

The Proposition 8 ballot initiative was approved by California voters in 2008 and overturned a state Supreme Court decision which created a "right" for homosexual and lesbian couples to "marry". To date, 29 other states have constitutional amendments defending marriage as between one man and one woman, while nine states and Washington, D.C., grant a legal quivalency between homosexual and lesbian partnerships and marriage.

An Amicus brief filed by the administration is unlikely to sway the Justices. However, the federal government's opinion does carry weight with the court.

According to an official requesting anonymity, a final decision on whether to file an amicus brief has not been made.

While the Justice Department would formally make the filing, the president himself is almost certain to make the ultimate decision on whether to file.

Obama has both advocated and waffled on the idea of recognizing homosexual unions as a "marriage". As a presidential candidate in 2008, he opposed the California proposition but didn't endorse gay marriage. When he ran for re-election last year, he announced his personal support for granting equivalent legal status to homosexuals and lesbians -- but said that marriage was an issue that should be decided by the states, not the federal government.

Some have interpreted Obama's call for gay rights during his Jan. 21 inaugural address as a signal that he now sees a federal role in redefining marriage.

"Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law," Obama said during his remarks on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. "For if we are truly created equal, than surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."

Administration officials say the president was not foreshadowing any legal action in his remarks and was simply restating his personal belief in the right of gays and lesbians.

� 2013, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: California, Obama, gay marriage, Proposition 8

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1 - 4 of 4 Comments

gerald
3 months ago
My definition of marrriage comes from the Church. What our secular government does is not important. The sacrament of marriage is completely different from a man-made union defined by the government. Why elevate this man-made union as equal to the sacrament of marriage? Catholic first and foremost----salvation only comes from God. We lower ourselves when we enter arguments like this.
DLL
3 months ago
California has voted against gay marriage. The vote means nothing if it can be overturned by Obama or anyone else. Why vote? We are really living under an Obama imposed dictatorship no matter what you believe. He is the worst spendthrift and President I have ever seen. He is a dictator. Democracy in America is history. Obama is why every political process is in a state of check or checkmate. It is his way or the highway do not be fooled. Our government is encased in a glacier of indecision and he is the glacier of ice enclosing it all so the country is a divisive mess. Gay or straight you are getting nothing from him. Obama is a divisive President. It is only HIS political agenda that he is pushing and it is as variable as night is to day. He wants to tax us into dysfunction so that no one can afford any thing anymore. Meanwhile he enjoys lavish vacations,golf,shooting hoops and appearing on late night television.
greg
3 months ago
I have read the statement of the President Obama for the first time. What a bunch of nonsense. He is an intelligent man I suppose, and yet he talks like there is no logic. Gay man and straight man do have the same right to marry a woman. They talk about new law to give me a right to 'marry' a man. Not only I do not want such right but I find this right contrary to nature. Also a gay man has the same right as a straight one to love eg wish the good of the other above theirs. If I did not know it is craziness I would suspect provocation...
Davd Graf
3 months ago
MARRIAGE IS A SACREMENT. Marriage is the joining together of a man and a woman in Holy matrimony. I agree with President Obama if he means that gays and lesbians should be left alone, unharrassed.;; if he means that they are free to form a partnership; if he means that they are free to vow to remain together til death they do part. I hope that President Obama rethinks his decision to interfere with the California decision to ban same-sex marriages. We might as well have no state government. Is he attempting to rule by decree? Marriage is the joining together of a man and a woman in Holy matrimony, MARRIAGE IS A SACREMENT.

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