A LANDMARK Supreme Court ruling on the rights of gay married
couples has been welcomed by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal
Church in the United States, Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, and
other bishops.
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday of last week that the
Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) was discriminatory. DOMA, which came
into force in 1996, denies federal entitlements, such as tax and
pension benefits, to same-sex couples who have married in the 13
states where gay marriage is lawful. The Supreme Court did not
rule, however, on whether gay people have a constitutional right to
marry, meaning that gay marriage remains unlawful in more than 30
states.
The Court also declined to rule on Proposition 8, a law
prohibiting gay marriage in California. This lets stand a
lower-court ruling that the ban is unconstitutional.
Dr Jefferts Schori said in a statement issued after the ruling
that the Episcopal Church "has taken the position that neither
federal nor state governments should create constitutional
prohibitions that deny full civil rights and protections to gay and
lesbian persons, including those available to different-sex couples
through the civic institution of marriage.
"Accordingly, I welcome today's decision of the United States
Supreme Court. . . The unmistakable movement toward civil marriage
equality in the states over the past decade reflects the will of
the people in those states to grant equal rights and dignity under
the law to all married couples and families, and today's decision
will appropriately allow those families to be recognized under
federal law as well.
"At the same time, the Court's withholding of judgment on the
ultimate constitutional question of whether a state may ban
same-sex marriage reflects the fact that this conversation will
continue to evolve in coming years."
The Court's ruling was welcomed by other Episcopalian bishops.
The Bishop of Washington, the Rt Revd Mariann Edgar Budde, said on
Wednesday: "Scripture teaches us that God shows no partiality.
Today our country has moved closer to this vision of equality and
unity."
The Vice-President of the National Association of Evangelicals,
Galen Carey, said: "The Supreme Court had the opportunity to uphold
both marriage and democracy, and it did neither. The Supreme Court
also did not unilaterally create a new right to redefine marriage.
Instead, the Court has allowed the conversation on marriage to
continue."