Historic Day
Faculty reflect SCOTUS same-sex marriage decision
On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision, ruling 5-4 that states cannot ban same-sex marriage. Below, faculty reflect on the Supreme Court’s decision, calling it a victory for civil rights and marriage equality.
Faculty Opinions
“Today LGBT people took another step (SCOTUS said “you may.”) toward full citizenship. Some say it has been a long journey, but to me it has been—in historical terms—a relatively short one. One must think of the long journey of African Americans and women seeking justice and must remember how much we in the LGBT movement for equality owe to the Civil Rights and women's movements that continue to this day. Ours is a true victory, but like our fellow black and female American citizens—some of us are all three—we must continue to seek true equality before the law and its agencies, insisting on the equal respect, equal treatment and equal protection that we all deserve.”
Lonna Malmsheimer, professor emerita of American studies and research, Dickinson College and the LGBT History Project of Central PA
“Today’s historic ruling is a major victory for civil rights. Combined with yesterday’s decision reaffirming the Fair Housing Act, this has been a much-needed week for American civil-rights advocates. The United States made important strides toward fulfilling the soaring language enshrined in the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing equal protection to all.”
Erik Love, Assistant Professor of Sociology and a civil-rights advocacy scholar
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Published June 26, 2015