What I don't understand is, if the Founders intentionally left out any mention of marriage in the Constitution, how is the issue of marriage anything more than just a state issue? Wouldn't it have been a better decision to say that yes, all people are to have equal protection under the law and all classes shall receive the same benefits under the law through civil unions but the question of gay marriage is settled by the state's?

For example, there were at least two general election referendums in California where the voters turned it down and both times liberal and or gay judges overturned the results. How is it that a liberal gay judge can overturn a majority opinion of the general population? Let the state decide.

yes you are right

well now that door has been opened, anyone can reasonably argue they are entitled to the same privileges.. the institution of marriage has taken a huge hit with this ruling. Keep in mind, the family structure is the backbone of our society. It seems progressives, whether they realize it or not, are doing nothing but undermining the fabric of our society. All one needs to do is look at the rise and fall of EVERY OTHER democracy to see the moral decline precedes the physical. We are there.. Our generation will be judged by history as the ones who destroyed the greatest country that has ever existed..

Interesting reply. I firmly believe that the demise of this country started with the formation of the SDS and the Weathermen. Parents of the kids in college that used the Vietnam War protests to undermine our country were to blame for fostering, and not quelling, the radical ideas that bring us to where we are today.

Boring subject! Stay single you should live longer, beside marriage is just a thing an institution why ruin a good friendship an get married any ways.
Single works stay single. Thanks to all be what you want to be!

I agree with gay couples being able to have a union that allows them the same tax concessions etc as a m/f married couple... What I dont get is how any court can change the laws in the US. I thought courts were there to adjudicate on laws. In this case the laws in place say only a man and woman can be married. Simple answer for the Supreme court to gay marriage is no. How did the Supreme court have power to change the law of the people?

Unfortunately, for the Constitution, I don't think we'll ever know the answer to that question.

The same way that the Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that "separate but equal" was UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Thurgood Marshall (let me know if you dont know who that was) successfully argued that 58 year old Plessy vs Ferguson decision used for segregation purposes was a complete violation of the 14th Amendment. Of course I could also bring up the 1967 decision from Loving vs. Virginia that affirmed no state has the right to deny marriage between members of different ethnic origins. The point is the Supreme Court was designed to interpret the laws and determine if they are fair and just in their practice and implementation. So thats how the justices of the court decided that denying marriage equality was a violation to equal protection.

So if a majority of voters in an individual state vote one way, and a liberal gay judge says otherwise, we have to do what the judge says? I dont get it.

What pisses me off is that once again we voted on it. Whether you voted for it or against it...WE voted. It is 5 peoples "OPINION" and once again the voting process don't mean SHIT. No wonder people stop voting in this country. Put it back on the ballot and let the states decide. If we have evolved enough in the last decade I can live with any opinion the voters have. The voting process is the most important aspect of our free society.

And there you go.

Yes. but the court then has to say yes it is a violation to equal protection but we dont have the power to make or change laws so the answer is still no. It really is that simple. Somehow The Supreme court has taken upon itself to change the law and not a single person with any authority has said, well thats a nice thought but sorry, you cant do that Supreme court, you dont have the power. You can only rule on the law, not make changes to it.

Leave it to a Tea Party twit to turn a gay marriage discussion into a tax discussion. Any second I expect to see the 2nd amendment thrown into the mix.

DON'T TREAD ON ME!!!!

(P.S.... God was made up by men.)

I disagree. I believe the most important aspect of our free society is your right to express yourself as you do here, no matter how narrow your view is.

Live with the opinions of the voters??? Didn't the second four years of George W. Bush teach people anything? The fact that he stole the first election was one thing but the "informed" public actually elected him for the second four years. I was ashamed at us all when that happened. People like him (read conservatives) sell this issue of family values above all else, and many of them are single-issue voters, meaning that nothing else matters, except for their narrow ideal of what is right. Birth control, Gun control, Health Care, Marriage Equality, Energy Policy, Military Policy, take your pick. People grab on to one issue and that's all they care about. Guess what? There's more to life and the world than their narrow "opinion" about the way everyone else should live.

If these people don't like it, then GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! That's another freedom that we have that not everyone else does, to actually leave this country when we want. That is the ultimate "out" of our form of society if you don't like it. Guess what, you can leave.

Gay marriage doesn't hurt society any more than being a vegan, except that being a vegan actually impacts the meat industry. Why isn't that outlawed? Because God didn't say anything about the way we eat? Guess again! Read the bible and there's a whole bunch of rules about what we can eat and what we cannot. In fact there's more written about food than there is about marriage or sex, so go enforce that instead.