Constitutional Connection

     Under section 1 of the 14th Amendment from the US Constitution, it states that "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United states; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This means that equal rights are distributed throughout every one being of the United States. However, many states do not allow same-sex marriages which is discrimination amongst homosexuals, therefore meaning that they do not abide by the Constitution. Per contra, each state with laws &/ amendments prohibiting gay marriage should ethically be taken away, but it's not that easy. There are many controversial issues, for example: religion and morals, that influence the issue negatively by providing a disapproving opinion. Under the Defense of Marriage Act, marriage is defined as " a legal union between one man and one woman for purposes of all federal laws, and provides that states need not recognize a marriage from another state if it is between persons of the same sex" (DOMA). This was initially an act under the Federal Constitution meaning that every state abides by this ruling. President Barack Obama realized that this act is unconstitutional, but he can't do anything about it because in order for this case to get passed, the issue has to go through the Supreme Court. This is where section 1 in the 14th Amendment becomes crucial because people who are pro gay marriage want to persuade the Supreme Court to give homosexuals the same rights as heterosexuals. They bring up that it is discrimination to not allow the same rights and therefore goes against the constitution; therefore states that saying "no to gay marriage" should be listed as unconstitutional.