Marco Rubio’s plan to end marriage equality
Marco Rubio has officially joined the “end marriage equality” club that many of his Republican candidates hold memberships in. On NBC’s Meet the Press Marco Rubio pledged, as President, to change the historic decision that same-sex marriage is a Constitutional right protected by the 14th Amendment.
Rubio said that he would not attempt to pass a constitutional amendment to return the question of same-sex marriage back to the sates. Rather, after numerous deflections, Rubio said he would simply appoint new Supreme Court justices who would overturn the decision on Obergefell v. Hodges.
Rubio: As I’ve said, that would be conceding that the current Constitution is somehow wrong and needs to be fixed. I don’t think the current Constitution gives the federal government the power to regulate marriage. That belongs at the state and local level. And that’s why if you want to change the definition of marriage, which is what this argument is about.
It’s not about discrimination. It is about the definition of a very specific, traditional, and age-old institution. If you want to change it, you have a right to petition your state legislature and your elected representatives to do it. What is wrong is that the Supreme Court has found this hidden constitutional right that 200 years of jurisprudence had not discovered and basically overturn the will of voters in Florida where over 60% passed a constitutional amendment that defined marriage in the state constitution as the union of one man and one woman.
Chuck Todd: So are you accepting the idea of same sex marriage in perpetuity?
Rubio: It is the current law. I don’t believe any case law is settled law. Any future Supreme Court can change it. And ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed.
The next president is likely to appoint multiple Supreme Court justices. Three of the five justices who voted in favor of marriage equality — Ruth Bader Ginsburg (82), Anthony Kennedy (79) and Stephen Breyer (77) — are among the oldest on the court. Basically, if the next president is a Republican, he or she is likely to appoint judges who align with their party.
Typically justices respect the decisions of the court, even if they disagree. Rubio is saying that he will appoint new justices who do not intend to respect the Obergefell decision.
