ELECTIONS, POLITICS, & GOVERNMENT
With Roe v. Wade now overturned, could same-sex marriage be next?
Jun 24, 2022, 8:30 PM
Utah Sen. Derek Kitchen says party switching is partly blame for loss in last month's Democratic primary election. Photo credit: Laura Seitz, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — In wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Friday that overturned Roe. v. Wade, many people are wondering the fate of same-sex marriage.
In a concurring opinion of the ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas stated the court should examine other precedents. Among those is the 2015 ruling by the Supreme Court that legalized same-size marriages.
This is of great concern to Utah Sen. Derek Kitchen, D-Salt Lake City, who has made efforts to legalize gay marriage in the past. Earlier this month, Kitchen began the process to codify marriage equality under Utah law.
“I’m incredibly troubled with Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion,” Kitchen said to KSL NewsRadio Friday.
Kitchen says what Thomas expressed is a deterrent to the progress made in society.
“This is actually undercutting fundamental rights that we’ve achieved in the last decade or so,” he said. “And I’m really troubled.”
Kitchen says that most Americans support a woman’s right to choose.
“So, it has nothing to do with what the public opinion thinks,” he said of the Supreme Court ruling.
Kitchen also says most Americans also support same-sex marriage.
“Seventy-one percent of Americans support same-sex marriage,” he said. “That will not stop the Supreme Court from rolling this back if they choose to.”
Kitchen says he supports those people who are upset over Friday’s ruling.
“Anybody who is angry and afraid, I stand with you,” he said. “When one of our fundamental rights is under attack, all of our fundamental rights are under attack, let’s be clear about that.”
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