States' Rights and Marriage

Not so long ago, Democrats invoked states' rights in the marriage debate.

On June 6, 2006, Senator Dianne Feinstein announced her opposition to a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage:

Family law, indeed, is the purview of the States. So, there’s no need for a constitutional amendment.

This proposed constitutional amendment strikes at the heart of States’ rights in the area of family law, and in doing so, actually undermines our Constitution.

Moreover, I believe that Americans believe that the States should deal with same-sex marriage as the States see fit. And so I do.

On June 17, 2009, President Obama said:

Among the steps we have not yet taken is to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. I believe it's discriminatory, I think it interferes with States' rights, and we will work with Congress to overturn it.

On May 9, 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo said:

I believe in states rights. I would like to see a place where this law is accepted all across the nation. I advocated as such.  I don’t know that the solution should be the federal government  telling states what to do.