Same-sex marriage has been a major issue in American politics for years. Even with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that essentially made same-sex marriage the law of the land, the issue still comes up during the race for U.S. President.
During a nationally broadcasted interview, Florida Senator and presidential candidate Marco Rubio took up a discussion on same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court’s decision. At the time, Rubio said same-sex marriage is not a constitutionally protected right and that, “The states have always defined marriage.”
PolitiFact Florida heard the claim and gave it a HALF TRUE rating.
PolitiFact writer Joshua Gillin said states are allowed to make their own laws about marriage, but there is one difference.
“The Supreme Court of the United States often does give rulings that have some kind of impact on this,” Gillin said. “The biggest one that really applies here to this same-sex marriage issue that gets cited a lot is the 1967 decision that did not let states discriminate on interracial marriages. You couldn’t have a law that said people of different races couldn’t marry.”
Gillin went on to say there are a whole host of these types of situations, citing a Supreme Court ruling saying prisoners could not get married.
SOURCES: States have always defined marriage Rubio claims
- NBC News, Meet the Press transcript, Dec. 13, 2015
- PolitiFact, "Ted Olson: Supreme Court never said marriage was between a man and a woman in 15 cases," Jan. 18, 2015
- Email interview, Kermit Roosevelt, University of Pennsylvania law professor, Dec. 13, 2015
- Email interview, Jane Schacter, Stanford law professor, Dec. 13, 2015
- Email interview, Jason Pierceson, University of Illinois Springfield political science professor, Dec. 12, 2015