The “Legalization” of Same Sex Marriage in Colorado

By Jake Plessinger

As of 10:30am Mountain Standard Time on Monday October 06, 2014, gay marriage will now be allowed in almost a dozen new states. The Supreme Court has refused to hear cases of gay marriage appeal in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, thus lifting bans on same sex marriage in those states. Because the Supreme Court refused to hear cases from these states, it could mean that six other subsidiary states (Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming) can start lifting their bans on same sex marriage as well. Colorado was one of the first states to begin the process. Same sex marriage licenses have been ordered to be issued to the public from all 64 county clerks throughout the state. The Colorado Attorney General, John Suthers, advised precaution to those who were trying to gain early access to a marriage license, suggesting that the county clerks wait until every legal matter was taken care of before any license was officially issued so that no more “frustration” (Steffan) was placed upon those looking to obtain their marriage license.

First off, a big congratulations to everyone in the 11 states and all around the world who have been fighting for the legalization of same sex marriage. However this is no victory for the LGBQT community; it just isn’t a loss. Though same sex marriages are now legal in 11 new states, it may not be forever. The Supreme Court can still overturn the decision in about one or two years. Or the individual states could even enact new laws to limit or prohibit same sex marriage yet again. The Supreme Court’s indecision simply showed us that they aren’t ready to start talk for or against gay marriage yet. For some reason gay marriage is a touchy subject in our society today, but to simply ignore the cases for or against either side isn’t a win for the other one. Much like our Legislative branch, our Judicial system seems to prefer to postpone their final decisions until the absolute last second, which does a lot more harm than it does good. Whatever your belief on the subject may be, we here at Yellow Scene would like to remind everyone to be respectful of each other. We value every one of our readers, whether they’re gay, straight or otherwise.

Sources:

Ashley Fantz & Bill Mears “High court refuses to rule – and gives tacit victory – on same-sex marriage”, CNN.com

Jordan Steffan “Colorado clerks are preparing to issue same-sex marriage licenses”, denverpost.com