HAVE WE REACHED THE “TIPPING POINT” ON GAY MARRIAGE?

Gay marriage has now been authorized in one form or another in several states. In response, the Federal Government and many states have passed laws prohibiting gay marriage. But it doesn’t take a genius to know that people are going to flock to gay marriage states and get married and then move into states that do not allow it. This is going to create the need for people and the courts to deal with issues relating to the gay marriage the states attempt to prevent. When these gay marrieds separate, there are going to be legal issues, such as division of property. I am sure that most states, whether they recognize gay marriage or not, recognize that even void marriages may require the equitable distribution of assets and perhaps even support arising out of joint ventures.

Both the President and Vice President have now come out in favor of gay marriage. It was not lost on many people that our prior former Vice President had a gay daughter. Now, the First U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. US Dept of Health Services that the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (passed in the wake of the 1993 Hawaii decision allowing gay marriage) which denies federal benefits to same-sex married couples is unconstitutional.

The small steps toward social change are occurring every day in spite of attempts to prevent them. With the President, Vice President and the Federal Courts stepping in on the side of the first decision by Hawaii, a social epidemic of change is probably near. See: The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Caldwell, Little Brown and Company, 2002.