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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyAugust 20th, 2008
The Coquille, a Native American tribe in southern Oregon have become the first in the United States to decide to recognize same-sex marriage (The Oregonian).
As a federally recognized sovereign nation, the tribe is not bound by Oregon’s constitution. And on May 8, the tribe adopted a law that recognizes same-sex marriage and extends to gay and lesbian couples all the tribal benefits of marriage.
And while the state cannot interfere in inter-tribal matters, the planned marriage between Kitzen and Jeni Branting could play a part in a larger legal question.
Because the Coquille is federally recognized, a marriage “occurring within the tribe would actually be federally recognized,” Gilley said. And that would violate the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that says the federal government “may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose.”
As a result, the marriage between the Brantings – who share the same last name after changing it to reflect their commitment – could become a test case if challenged by the federal government. Gilley said it could test the boundaries of tribal independence nationwide. .
“This could be a test of sovereignty,” he said.
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Samantha Davis
August 20th, 2008
From Article Six of the Constitution of the United States:
In my, albeit lay, interpretation of the law DOMA is not supporting, and in fact, does not even deal with any part of the Constitution. In fact, DOMA flies in the face of not only the spirit of the body of the Constitution itself but in the face of the First Amendment and the spirit behind Amendments XV, XIX, and XXIV. Given that I don’t think it can be said that DOMA is “in pursuance therof [the Constitution].”
Furthermore, because the United States government had a treaty with the Coquille nation and because DOMA can’t be said to be “in pursuance [of the Constitution]” Article VI clearly holds the Coquille treaty above DOMA.
I would be interested in seeing what some of these Constitutionalist judges have to say.
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