Comment by Araina on June 24, 2011 at 5:39pm

Obama has failed to support any form of human rights regarding homosexuals.  Being someone that is half black, does he think the states should decide if they want to discriminate against blacks?

Comment by Heather Spoonheim on June 24, 2011 at 6:09pm

This is really interesting.  Leaving same-sex marriage legal in some states and illegal in others opens up a HUGE pandora's box of legal woes just like with slave/free states.  What happens if a person gets a job in another state only to find their same-sex spouse won't be covered by spousal medical coverage there?  Same issues with adopted children, life insurance, living wills, etc, etc, etc.  Not resolving this at a federal level is akin to the founding father's not dealing with slavery in the declaration of independence.

Comment by Mike Glickman on June 24, 2011 at 6:23pm

I get that Obama is a centrist, but he is being a coward on this issue. Human rights is not a state issue. Olbermann nailed the whole thing with his comments, starting at the 3:38 mark.

Comment by Stephen Walski on June 24, 2011 at 6:23pm

That is a good pandora's box though in the way in which our government operates and the actual powers granted to the federal government by our constitution. One of the main purposes of our federal government is to resolve disputes between the states.Disputes over individual state tariffs and money conversion during the early colonial times is part of the reason it was decided our framing would include a federal government not just an autonomous collection of states.

 

Once a dispute like that enters a federal forum then it becomes a federal law as it should. Once its a federal issue it falls under the 14th amendment which is exactly how civil rights was passed in this country to begin with. Once its a 14th amendment issue even states that disagree with it must follow it.

 

Some of believe it already is covered under section 1 of the 14th amendment:

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

 

But at least the path you describe makes the democracy march forward for better or worse.

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