Even though I grew up in Las Vegas, I’ve never been much of a betting man.
But if I were, I’d be willing to lay 2 to 1 odds that the Supreme Court will strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act and recognize gay unions.
Constitutional law is filled with contradictory language and murky doctrine, and trying to predict court rulings is about as easy as drawing an inside straight at the poker tables. But this one seems to me like it ought to be a constitutional no-brainer, at least to the intellectually honest members of the court.
Well there is, actually. In 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act, which forbid protests within 300 of the entrance to a federally administered cemetery within an hour before or after a military funeral. States such as Maryland, where a York County man, Albert Snyder buried his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, have passed similar laws to cover other burial places.
Marc Charisse is the editor of The Evening Sun. Dr. Charisse has a Ph.D. in First Amendment law and history, and has taught communication law and constitutional law at the University of Washington in Seattle and Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Fla. Charisse can be reached at mcharisse@eveningsun.com.
