After reading the article in the July 4 edition of The Free Weekly, it came to my attention that there was a misconception that could be misinterpreted in the article related to the Supreme Court’s decision on the Defense of Marriage Act. In the article it stated “…the Supreme Court decision made June 26, striking down the Defense of Marriage Act and marking it unconstitutional to deny marriage to same-sex couples…”
That statement is not quite accurate. The opinion of the Supreme Court struck down section three of DOMA, making it unconstitutional to deny the same social security and federal benefits to same-sex couples that are afforded to their straight counterparts in states that recognize same-sex marriages. The court declined to say whether there was a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, and there still remains 37 states where same-sex marriage is not recognized. Arkansas is included in that list.
After the two historic Supreme Court rulings, Americans everywhere are demanding their equality, as they should. We need to work smartly and strategically in Arkansas to achieve this equality, and the NWA Center for Equality will work with our allies to do so.
Equality Clarification
After reading the article in the July 4 edition of The Free Weekly, it came to my attention that there was a misconception that could be misinterpreted in the article related to the Supreme Court’s decision on the Defense of Marriage Act. In the article it stated “…the Supreme Court decision made June 26, striking down the Defense of Marriage Act and marking it unconstitutional to deny marriage to same-sex couples…”
That statement is not quite accurate. The opinion of the Supreme Court struck down section three of DOMA, making it unconstitutional to deny the same social security and federal benefits to same-sex couples that are afforded to their straight counterparts in states that recognize same-sex marriages. The court declined to say whether there was a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, and there still remains 37 states where same-sex marriage is not recognized. Arkansas is included in that list.
After the two historic Supreme Court rulings, Americans everywhere are demanding their equality, as they should. We need to work smartly and strategically in Arkansas to achieve this equality, and the NWA Center for Equality will work with our allies to do so.
Yours in Equality,
James Rector, President | Board of Directors
NWA Center for Equality
nwaequality.org