Although I am joining this conversation a little late I wanted to provide some input. First, I was very excited to hear the ruling! Friday will certainly go down in the history books as a great day for LGBT people and Straight Allies. As a gay man, and having come out of the closet about 7 years ago, I am in awe at how quickly the tide has turned to advance marriage equality. Seven years ago I remember thinking that it would be many decades before same-sex marriage was recognized by all 50 states of the United States of America. While it seems that the battle will drag on a little bit longer in my home state of Kansas (Texas and Kansas seem to have similar resistance at this point), I am sure that compliance will come fairly soon. However, like many other LGBT folk and Allies, I recognize that the battle is still not yet complete. There is currently discussion, as there always has been, by some about an amendment to the United States Constitution. Therefore, we must remain vigilant to defend the ruling.
Honestly, I have some mixed feelings on the ruling. Aside from the happiness I have on the ruling, I have enduring questions. As I am very familiar with the issue of marriage equality, and have been involved in some activism, I came to hold my own perspectives on the constitutionality of such a ruling. Apart from other people I know who are also passionate about this issue, I take a perspective of the federal government having somewhat of a limited role in the issue of marriage equality. To be specific, I interpreted the constitution as indicating, through the Full Faith and Credit clause, that only recognition could be required by the federal government. I was actually surprised when the Supreme Court went beyond this by ruling that all states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. I therefore, am still having some difficulty determining the logic behind the requirement for all states to issue marriage licenses. This still persists despite reading all of the opinions issued by the Supreme Court. Additionally, this persists as the historical precedent has been that the states have regulated marriage, not the federal government.
Once again, while I am very happy that same-sex marriage is now recognized by all 50 states, I am still perplexed as to the constitutionality of the court going beyond simple recognition by all states.
What thoughts and arguments do you all have regarding this?