UI reacts to Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage in the US
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States made the landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.
Previous to the decision, the majority of U.S. states had allowed same-sex couples to get married, but same-sex marriage hadn’t had a universal acceptance in all 50 states. Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter has frequently made his opinion against same-sex marriage clear over the past year, and called the recent ruling “truly disappointing.”
But, Natalie Magnus, program coordinator for the Center for Volunteerism and Social Action at the University of Idaho, said her reaction to the news was “very positive.”
“I find it interesting that people in … younger generations, I’ve seen a lot of sentiments of ‘Hooray, but it’s about time. This took so long,'” Magnus said. “And it’s interesting seeing people older than myself, who are also joyous and happy about it, but they’re saying, ‘We thought this was going to be many years down the road.'”
Julia Keleher, director of the LGBTQA Office, said she heard about the ruling while she was getting ready for work and was surprised by it. Keleher is part of one of the same-sex couples who got married in October of last year when same-sex marriage was legalized in Idaho.
“I was surprised,” Keleher said. “I knew it was a thing that they might rule on Friday because I read it online, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen so quickly.”
Keleher said she and her wife found the decision reaffirming to their marriage. She said they always knew their relationship was just as legitimate as a heterosexual union, but by the Supreme Court recognizing it as legitimate as well, she hopes it will prove to the public that same-sex couples are just like everybody else.
“It makes me feel like equality is on the way to happening for the LGBTQA community,” she said. “It’s a huge step for our community. It’s a huge step for America.”
Jeffrey Dodge, associated dean of the College of Law, and his husband were another couple who were married last October. He said they were ecstatic at the news.
“We were ecstatic and overjoyed,” Dodge said. “I think it was the news that many of us were hoping for and I think it really represents decades and decades of work that people have put into getting marriage equality across the country and across the world.”
Dodge said the ruling is probably the only time a Supreme Court decision will directly impact him and his family in his lifetime. He said it validated his marriage and will allow their 10-month-old son to grow up in a world that is more accepting of same-sex relationships.
“He’s going to live in a world where his dads dropping him off at school might be more common,” he said.
ASUI President Max Cowan said he found the news of the ruling exciting because it marked a huge moment in U.S. History. He said the decision also offers people a great opportunity to “change the conversation” about social issues to discuss more important matters.
“This will now allow us to shift that conversation to maybe more pressing issues — discrimination in housing and employment are conversations that I think will be coming next,” Cowan said. “In Idaho I have faith that that conversation will become a bigger part of the dialogue.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer