High Court Will Rule on Gay Marriage by Jess Bravin - Essay Example

Using the example of Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, a gay couple who had been together for over forty years, yet when Thea died, Edith was left with taxes that she would not have received had she married a man. This couple stands as the perfect example of how mistreated same-sex couples are, prompting the Supreme Court to hear their pleas for equality. The article comes to an end with a rundown of the various complications that may come as a result of the Supreme Court making a ruling on gay marriage and the fact that the Supreme Court is limited in its power when it comes to state law.

Mark Sherman and Dennis Junius’s article, “Obama Considers Weighing In on Gay Marriage Case” looks at the Obama administration’s decision to urge the Supreme Court to overturn California’s ban on gay marriage. President Obama made his stance clear since the first inaugural address that he support gay marriage and felt that gay couples should not be treated differently under the law. President Obama stated that “his administration would do whatever it could to promote that principle” (Sherman & Junius par. 8). However, these beliefs were primarily personal, and Obama set little in motion for taking the issue to a legal level. Sherman and Junius also point out the many limitations that the Supreme Court has in making a ruling, as well as the other options that proponents of gay marriage have.

The primary similarity between these two separate articles is that they focus on the ongoing battle to legalize gay marriage and allow same-sex couples to make use of the same rights that heterosexual couples receive upon marriage. Homosexuality has been a taboo topic up until a decade ago, and it continues to become more known, and the argument strengthened, as proponents speak up for the rights they believe that everyone deserves, regardless of who they love. In Bravin’s article, we see the steps that have been taken by the gay community and those that support the gay community to get their voices heard by powers that can overturn bans against gay marriage. In Sherman and Junius’s article, the debate has moved beyond what is expected of the Supreme Court and, instead, looks to how our current president can help the cause. The two articles both provide background and methods as to what is currently taking place in this fight for equality.

Another startling similarity is how the two articles focus mainly on the proponents of gay marriage and spend very little time looking at those that are opposed to accepting same-sex couples as legally married. While bias is not necessarily present in either article, all of the authors seem more concerned with a positive fate for same-sex couples and gay marriage supporters. This concern is seen in how the authors, along with providing background into the debates, also offer up additional routes that same-sex couples can take depending on the ruling of the Supreme Court. As a result, it becomes clear that same-sex couples have many avenues to continue their fight, though there seems to be a collective hope that the Supreme Court will find sympathy with those that desire equality with their partners.

A major difference found between the two articles is that the perception of the debate on same-sex marriage shifts from a select few homosexual couples and the Supreme Court, in Bravin’s article, to a much larger public audience, including many people who are not gay but support the importance of love being equal in the article penned by Sherman and Junius.

In this debate, President Obama, with his open views favoring gay marriage, is the individual to that proponents for gay marriage are turning their eyes. Instead of hoping that the Supreme Court and some lawyers will hear them, they now have a single, powerful individual who can stand up for them. The view in Bravin’s article is, in this sense, bleak, with the very little promise that the homosexual population will get their cries heard. Sherman and Junius’s article is more optimistic, and even though they still face the possibility that their cases will not yield the results they want, they have at least shaken up the world with their demand for equality. The topic of homosexuality is no longer taboo, but a reality for millions.

These articles divulging the battle of same-sex marriage focus on the topic of overturning states’ decisions to ban gay marriage, yet each article is from a different perspective. By showing the arguments from different perspectives, we can see the intensity of the fight that same-sex marriage proponents are facing. We can also see to what extent they are willing to go to receive the same rights that heterosexual couples receive, thus gaining the equality that the United States prides itself on. Despite the differences between the two articles, the resounding message is the same: all people deserve equality, and these proponents will not cease their pleas until this goal is met in its entirety. Read More