Supreme Court case hits home
Many Americans paid attention to the U.S. Supreme Court arguments last week on the definition of marriage and whether the federal government has the right to define marriage. Many people throughout the country weighed in on the case.
Students at USU have made their voices heard on both sides of the issue.
According to Kennedy Tripp, President of the Life Club at USU, students have been handing out marriage equality literature and stickers in support of marriage equality.
On Monday, March 25, USU students and members of the Cache community held a candlelight vigil on the steps of the Logan Courthouse in support of marriage equality. More than 100 people attended.
“Seniors and graduate students who are in a committed relationship are especially anxious to see how the court decides,” Tripp said. “Just like heterosexual couples, we have marriage on the mind.”
Josh Gambrell, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering, said most of his friends have an opinion on the topic of same-sex marriage.
“I never realized so many of my friends here at school were so passionate about marriage equality,” Gambrell said.
Public opinion in support of same-sex marriage has grown in the past decade. The Pew Research Center reported the growth in support is among the largest changes in public opinion on any policy issue of the time period.
Ten years ago, 47 percent of Americans said homosexuality should be accepted by society. Today, the number has jumped to 57 percent. Among women, it’s even higher at 61 percent. For the young, born between 1980 and 1995, it holds at 74 percent.
Every generation polled by the Pew Research Center has seen an increase in support of marriage equality by at least six points.The research percentage of supportive individuals between the ages of 67 and 84 has increased 10 points.
Along partisan lines, the shift has been most noticeable among Democrats and self-described moderate-liberal Republicans. By a ratio of nearly two-to-one, Democrats today disagree same-sex marriage undermines the traditional family. On the other side of the argument, conservative Republicans are slightly less inclined to believe same-sex marriage is harmful to traditional values – the present-day 78 percent down from 81 percent in 2003.
The U.S. Supreme Court cases are sensitive and emotions can run high on both sides of the argument. The polls reporting growing acceptance show 44 percent of Americans still oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage.
“Although people are changing their opinions on same sex marriage, there are still many people who believe it is a moral issue, and the government has no right to be involved,” said Sarah Jacobson, a sophomore here at USU.
Social media sites like Facebook have become an arena for the public debate where those who support marriage equality have changed their profile pictures to a red equal sign. Some students at USU refer to it as the “red miracle.”
“I haven’t been on Facebook all week because I am tired of seeing my friends and family argue over the issue,” Gambrell said.
Other students just want to get back their normal, everyday lives without the tension of the public debate.
“I hope that once the U.S. Supreme Court has made its decision, we can all just work together as a country, as a community and as a school to support each other, no matter which side of the issue we fell on,” Jacobson said.
– andypierucci@gmail.com