N.Y. TIMES
In a pair of major victories for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that married same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits and, by declining to decide a case from California, effectively allowed same-sex marriages there.
The rulings leave in place laws banning same-sex
marriage around the nation, and the court declined to say whether there was a
constitutional right to such unions. But in clearing the way for same-sex
marriage in California, the nation’s most populous state, the court effectively
increased to 13 the number of states that allow it.
The decisions will only intensify the fast-moving
debate over same-sex marriage, and the clash in the Supreme Court reflected the
one around the nation. In the hushed courtroom Wednesday morning, Justice
Anthony M. Kennedy announced the majority opinion striking down the federal law
in a stately tone that indicated he was delivering a civil rights landmark.
After he finished, he sat stonily, looking straight ahead, while Justice Antonin
Scalia unleashed a cutting dissent.
The vote in the case striking down the federal Defense
of Marriage Act was 5 to 4, and Justice Kennedy was joined by the four members
of the court’s liberal wing. The ruling will immediately extend many benefits to
couples married in the states that allow such unions, and it will allow the
Obama administration to broaden other benefits through executive actions.
ANDY BOROWITZ THE NEW YORKER
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a shocking end to an illustrious legal career, police arrested Justice Antonin Scalia today as he attempted to set the Supreme Court building ablaze.
Justice Scalia, who had seemed calm and composed during the announcement of two major rulings this morning, was spotted by police minutes later outside the building, carrying a book of matches and a gallon of kerosene.
After police nabbed Justice Scalia and placed him in handcuffs, the Juror appeared “at peace and resigned to his fate,” a police spokesman said.
“He went quietly,” the spokesman said. “He just muttered something like, ‘I don’t want to live in a world like this.’ ”
Back at the Supreme Court, Justice Scalia’s colleagues said they hoped he would get the help he needed, except for Justice Clarence Thomas, who said nothing.
ANDY BOROWITZ THE NEW YORKER
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a shocking end to an illustrious legal career, police arrested Justice Antonin Scalia today as he attempted to set the Supreme Court building ablaze.
Justice Scalia, who had seemed calm and composed during the announcement of two major rulings this morning, was spotted by police minutes later outside the building, carrying a book of matches and a gallon of kerosene.
After police nabbed Justice Scalia and placed him in handcuffs, the Juror appeared “at peace and resigned to his fate,” a police spokesman said.
“He went quietly,” the spokesman said. “He just muttered something like, ‘I don’t want to live in a world like this.’ ”
Back at the Supreme Court, Justice Scalia’s colleagues said they hoped he would get the help he needed, except for Justice Clarence Thomas, who said nothing.