The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution clearly provides equal protection under the law for all U.S. citizens. I’d like to highlight one particular section of the Court’s 1967 ruling to demonstrate the obvious and undeniable parallels between interracial and same-sex marriage bans.

 

“The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men. Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man," fundamental to our very existence and survival. To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.”

 

Opinions on same-sex marriage are irrelevant because the issue is one of federal law. Despite your religious or political beliefs, the Constitution is the law of our land and is the supreme guide by which we must abide. To this end, no one can deny the power of the United States Constitution to provide equal protection for all citizens.

 

Regardless of whether you support or oppose homosexuality, you cannot deny the discrimination inherent in banning same-sex marriage. Similar to the way the Supreme Court took baby steps in banning segregation (first in public schools, then in transportation, then overall), I am confident the Court is moving in the right direction to eventually end discrimination against homosexuals—because banning marriage based on sexual orientation is as unconstitutional as banning it based on race.

 

The court has already ruled that marriage is “essential” for the pursuit of happiness. Although the Fourteenth Amendment does not currently provide protection on the basis of sexual orientation, I believe it is only a matter of time until same-sex couples will be granted their constitutional right to pursue such happiness.