Domestic Partnerships - Gay Marriage

Susan Estrich, in her commentary entitled The Real World of Gay Marriage states:

But calling it a "domestic partnership" rather than a "marriage" is a slap in the face, either a distinction without a real difference (and thus unjustified) or a sign of inferior status, of lesser rights and second-class citizenship that cannot be justified by any interest of the states. Religions are free to marry whomever they want; what the Bible does or doesn't say, however, is not the province of the State. No one is telling the Mormon Church what it can do with respect to gay marriage. The Mormon Church should not be telling us.

This commentary was headlined in Rasmussen Reports daily public opinion update of March 6, 2009, which of course was the day that arguments were presented before the Supreme Court of California regarding the legality of Proposition 8, passed last November by California voters.

As other states look to pass “domestic partnership” arrangements, Susan Estrich’s statement above and California’s example should be carefully examined. It was California’s then existing “domestic partnership” arrangements that the Supreme Court of California used in part to justify its pro gay marriage decision in the In Re Marriage Cases (2008) 43 Cal.4th 757 [76 Cal.Rptr.3d 683, 183 P.3d 384], and which ultimately has led to the Prop 8 battle before the court today.

READ Susn Estrich’s commentary in Rasmussen Report here.