The White House refused to weigh in Tuesday on the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the case challenging California’s Proposition 8.
At a press briefing this afternoon, White House press secretary Jay Carney declined to comment on the administration’s stance on the Proposition 8 case nor some of the broader questions raised by the case, including whether the Constitution protects the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Carney would not say what President Barack Obama’s reaction was to the high court taking up the Proposition 8 case or the Defense of Marriage Act case surrounding Edith Windsor.
METRO WEEKLY: Jay, will the administration take a public stance on the Proposition 8 case that was taken up by the Supreme Court on Friday, in particular some of the broader questions raised by that case, including whether or not the Constitution protects the rights of same-sex couples to marry?
CARNEY: Well, I appreciate the question, but for comment on the court’s actions on that case I would point you to the Department of Justice. As you know the administration is not a party to this case and I just have nothing more for you on it.
MW: Did the president have any reaction to the court taking up the DOMA or the Prop. 8 case?
CARNEY: I have nothing more for you on that. Appreciate it.
Although the Obama administration has been clear in its views regarding DOMA since announcing in February 2011 that the Justice Department would no longer defend in court the discriminatory 1996 law on the grounds that Section 3, which forbids federal recognition of same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional, the administration has been far less vocal about any views related to the Proposition 8 case.
The Justice Department has refused to comment on Friday’s Supreme Court activity, although reports suggest that plaintiffs in the Proposition 8 case plan to lobby the administration to file a brief with the Supreme Court in their favor.
During a Dec. 7 conference call with reporters shortly after the Supreme Court announced it would take up the Proposition 8 case, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, Ted Olson, urged the Obama administration to make its position known.
“I would hate to predict what the United States government is doing, but given the stand the president of the United States and the attorney general of the United States made with respect to marriage equality, we would certainly hope that they would participate,” Olson said. “And I’m quite confident that if they did participate that they would support our position in this case that the denial of equal rights is subject to close scrutiny by the courts and cannot withstand that scrutiny. It’s a denial of rights, and it’s quite clear that it is.”
Although Obama has said he opposed California’s Proposition 8, which amended the state’s Constitution in 2008 to ban same-sex marriage after already granting that right to same-sex couples, he has not addressed the broader issues raised in the rulings against Proposition 8, in particular whether he believes the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from banning same-sex marriage.
Advocates have argued that a public stance from the Obama administration would aid their cause and fuel the political climate that can affect the opinions of justices seeking to be on the right side of history.
[Photo: The White House (Credit: Justin Snow/Metro Weekly).]
The former Kentucky clerk -- and anti-LGBTQ culture warrior -- who went to jail rather than issue licenses to same-sex couples is now targeting the landmark 2015 ruling.
A decade after catapulting to right-wing stardom, Kim Davis -- the former Rowan County, Kentucky county clerk who chose jail over issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples -- has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its landmark 2015 decision that legalized marriage equality nationwide.
Represented by the anti-LGBTQ Liberty Counsel, Davis has formally asked the nationâs highest court to strip away the right of same-sex couples to marry.
A Mike Huckabee acolyte and four-time married fundamentalist zealot, Davis rose to fame in 2015 when she refused to issue marriage licenses to any couple -- gay or straight -- after the Supreme Courtâs Obergefell v. Hodges decision struck down all state-level bans on same-sex marriage, including Kentuckyâs. Ordered to comply, she instead spent six days in jail for contempt of court.
In her first televised interview since her 2020 confirmation, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett appeared on CBS Sunday Morning to promote her new book, offering only vague commentary to host Norah OâDonnell in defense of the Courtâs legitimacy when asked whether justices might overturn Obergefell v. Hodges.
Barrett was pressed on recent remarks from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who told the Raging Moderates podcast that the Court will likely âdo to gay marriage what they did to abortionâ and âsend it back to the states.â
A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 59% of LGBTQ U.S. adults under age 50 who have never been married say they want to marry someday -- nearly the same as the 63% of non-LGBTQ adults who do. About 12% of each group say they never want to marry, while more than one-quarter are unsure of their future marriage plans.
By age, younger Americans who have never been married are more eager to wed than older peers, who are less certain and more doubtful about ever marrying.
Among those aged 18 to 29 who have never married, 67% of LGBTQ adults and 73% of non-LGBTQ adults say they want to marry someday. By contrast, just 48% of LGBTQ adults and 49% of non-LGBTQ adults aged 30 to 49 say the same, with nearly one-third in each group unsure.
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At a press briefing this afternoon, White House press secretary Jay Carney declined to comment on the administration’s stance on the Proposition 8 case nor some of the broader questions raised by the case, including whether the Constitution protects the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Carney would not say what President Barack Obama’s reaction was to the high court taking up the Proposition 8 case or the Defense of Marriage Act case surrounding Edith Windsor.
