Marriage American Style

Yesterday's historic election proved yet again that marriage is understood inherently by a majority of Americans to be that legally sanctioned union between one man and one woman that provides the best place for a child to grow up.

Marriage referendums were passed resoundingly in Arizona (56% to 44%), Florida (62% to 38%) and California (52% to 48%). Read the complete election results on the California Marriage Amendment protecting traditional marriage with the LA Times tracking, or go to http://vote.sos.ca.gov/Returns. These results present a conundrum to the California government and those Californians who took advantage of the state's highest court ruling in favor of same sex marriage nearly five months ago. It's estimated that some 18,000 same sex couples were married in California since the May court decision. 

Law and social policies that impact families and their children affect the future of every society. The legal landscape is set now in protection of marriage in a large majority of states, despite a mountain of hopeful media coverage in the alternative. Marriage American style is still a reflection of its original design.

For additional articles on marriage and what it means to society, see more at these resources:

Lynne Marie Kohm, The Collateral Effects of Civil Unions on Family Law, 11 WIDENER J. PUB. L. 451 (2002)(cited in John G. Culhane, The Heterosexual Agenda, 13 WEIDNER L. J. 759 (2004); Melissa Durand, From Political Questions to Human Rights: The Global Debate on Same-Sex Marriage and its Implications for U. S. Law, 5 REGENT J. INT'L L. 269 (2007)). 

Lynne Marie Kohm and Mark Yarhouse, Fairness, Accuracy and Honesty in Discussing Homosexuality and Marriage, 14 REGENT L. REV. 249 (2002)(reprinted at SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH NETWORK www.SSRN.com, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm? abstract_id=269418 (May 2002)).

Lynne Marie Kohm, How Will the Proliferation and Recognition of Domestic Partnerships Affect Marriage? 4 J. FAM. STUD. 105 (2002); also at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol13/papers.cfm. (cited in Katherine Shaw Spaht, Revolution and Counter-Revolution: The Future of Marriage in the Law, 49 LOYOLA L. REV. 1 (Spring 2003); Lynn D. Wardle, Counting the Costs of Civil Unions: Some Potential Detrimental Effects on Family Law, 11 WIDENER J. PUB. L. 401 (2002); Michael Scaperlanda, Kulturkampf in the Backwaters: Homosexuality and Immigration Law, 11 WIDENER J. PUB. L. 475 (2002); Katherine Shaw Spaht, The Last One Hundred Years: The Incredible Retreat of Law from the Regulation of Marriage, 63 LA. L. REV. 243 (Winter 2003); Herma Hill Kay, "Making Marriage and Divorce Safe for Women" Revisited, 32 HOFSTRA L. REV. 71 (2003); Lynn D. Wardle, The Curious Case of the Missing Legal Analysis, 18 B. Y. U. J. PUB. L. 309 (2003); Lynn D. Wardle, 116 HARV. L. REV. 1026 (2003); Nancy K. Kubasek, Alex Frondorf and Kevin J. Minnick, Civil Union Statutes: A Shortcut to Legal Equality for Same-Sex Partners in a Landscape Littered with Defense of Marriage Acts, 15 J. LAW. & PUB. POL'Y 229 (Spring 2004); Appendix A, Law Review Articles citing Baker v. Vermont, Justin W. Starr, 18 BYU J. PUB. L 353 (2004); Nancy D. Polikoff, Making Marriage Matter Less: The ALI Domestic Partner Principles Are One Step In The Right Direction, 2004 U. CHI. LEGAL F. 353; Mary Kay Kisthardt, 19 J. AM. ACAD. MATRIMONIAL L. 223 (2005); Domestic Partnerships: What the United States Should Learn from France's Experience, 24 PENN ST. INT'L L. REV. 683 (2006); Laura A. Rosenbury, Friends with Benefits? 

106 MICH. L. REV. 189 (2007); Melissa Durand, From Political Questions to Human Rights: The Global Debate on Same-Sex Marriage and its Implications for U. S. Law, 5 REGENT J. INT'L L. 269 (2007); Erin Cleary, New Jersey Domestic Partnership Act in the Aftermath of Lewis v. Harris: Should New Jersey Expand the Act to Include All Unmarried Cohabitants? 60 RUTGERS L. REV. 519 (2008); Shahar Lifshitz, A Potential Lesson from the Israeli Experience for the American Same-Sex Marriage Debate, 22 BYU J. PUB. L. 359 (2008)).