Federalism

An escalating issue in the United States is the controversy over same-sex marriages. In California, Proposition 8, which banned same –sex marriage licenses, was just struck down. The reasoning for the decision was that the ban didn’t act in the better interest of everyone, and it was unconstitutional to ban the gay couples from getting married. Now, representatives in Minnesota are trying to make a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in 2012.

Federalism is the separation of regional governments from the central government. Federalism plays a major role in the controversy over gay marriages because each state has their own law that either opposes or supports the law. Each state is allowed their own view on the controversy, and they can make their own laws either supporting or banning the marriages. In Minnesota, Richard Carlbom, a political veteran, will now be the campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families, which is an organization that is working to defeat the proposed same-sex marriage ban. Carlbom is openly gay and is now engaged to his boyfriend of four years. Voters in 29 states have previously considered gay-marriage bans, and they have all supported amending the constitution. This shows federalism because each state is expressing their own opinion, and they are all viewed as individual states, instead of being viewed as one whole government. In Bobby’s post, he talked about how voters in California voted to bring a new representative into their House. This can also show federalism because each state has a group of representatives that makes decisions for the state, so that they can report back to the central government.