Supreme Court

[Fidei Defensor]

Wrong.

 

The Church regards marriage between man and woman as a good of the natural order which goes back to Adam and Eve, long before Christ established His Church.

 

While it would be best if everyone entered the Catholic Church and was sacramentally married in the Church, the Church does regard marriages between non-Catholic men and women as actual marriages in the natural order, so long as they are open to life, permanent, and so forth.  A marriage between a Muslim man and woman, a Buddhist man and woman, or an atheist man and woman is recognized as a natural good, which a homosexual "marriage" cannot be.  Non-Catholic married couples who convert to the Catholic Faith are not required to "re-marry" after entering the Church.

 

The Church regards homosexual activity, on the other hand, as being intrinsically disordered and immoral.

 

You'll note in the CDF letter against homosexual legal unions cited earlier, that it does not regard its teachings on marriage to be relevant only to Catholics or Christians: "Since this question relates to the natural moral law, the arguments that follow are addressed not only to those who believe in Christ, but to all persons committed to promoting and defending the common good of society."  

 

If you think the Church places non-Catholic marriage between a man and a woman in the same category as homosexual "marriage," you are woefully misinformed of Catholic moral teaching.

Your face is intrinsically disordered and immoral.

[Winchester]

Your face is intrinsically disordered and immoral.

 

[penguin31]

Having further read up on the issue - and after much prayer and thought -  I hereby retract my previous comments.

Edited March 30, 2013 by penguin31

[Norseman82]

I think the key swing vote is Kennedy (who has voted in favor of sodomy rights previously) and, to a lesser extent, Roberts (since he was not reliable on the Obamacare ruling).  So, on Proposition 8 I will predict either 5-4 to uphold it ot 5-4 or 6-3 to overturn it.  For DOMA, I have fears that it will be overturned.

 

For the Proposition 8, it all depends on what grounds the court rules on it.  I see three grounds, each with differing consequences: 

 

1)  Whether there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.  This would be a worst-case Roe v. Wade outcome that would effectively force same-sex marriage nationwide.  Reports state that Kennedy is hesitant about going that far. 

 

2)  Whether a state can revoke a right that has already been granted.  I have read that that was the basis for a previous court ruling regarding gay rights.  This most likely means that gay marriage is "locked in" where it already has been approved.

 

3)  Whether the people who brought the appeal have any legal standing.  This would have the impact of allowing same-sex marriage to proceed in California, but future appeals supporting Proposition 8 may proceed if the people bringing the appeals have  any legal standing. 

 

For DOMA, aside from the question of whether there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, the main argument on whether it may be struck down is whether it violates the provision of the Constitution stating that all states must respect the laws of other states. 

 

Also, the federal government does have an interest in marriage laws since it does affect such things as federal tax statuses, social security benefits, etc.