all night long together

The listing said that he needed someone to drive with him and share the drive time for a free ride. I thought, hey why not. Now as we drove, I remembered how much I hated driving long distances. It was my shift and it was dark outside. Whoever thought driving across the country was fun was out of their mind I thought as I drove past one farm after another. I was tired and it was late. I pulled over off the side of the road onto a small driveway leading to some fields. It was time to get some rest before I crashed the car. I reclined the seat, closed my eyes and drifted off. It was such an erotic dream I was having. I could actually feel his hands touching my skin, caressing it almost and I opened my mouth to lick and suck on his big hard cock. I felt his hand on my head, urging me up and down on him when I opened my eyes and realized I was sucking his delicious dick. He was moaning and I could taste his pre-cum in my mouth. I devoured him and waited for him to explode right down my throat. He filled my mouth with his cum and I swallowed it all. He looked down at me and started to apologize saying how I reached out and touched him in my sleep. I don't know about that, but the next few hours were spent fucking like teenagers in the back seat of the car!

He quickly came!

He asked me out in a bold move that surprised even me. He picked me up and we went to a nice dinner and then were going to a new club that opened in town, or so I thought. The clumsy waiter actually dropped an entire plate of food in his lap. Instinctively I went to help clean up the mess with my napkin and tried to wipe some of the mess away. He clasped my hand and stopped me my hand perched right on top of his crotch. He just looked at me and I nodded, I could feel the hardness beneath my hand and he groaned quietly. The waiter hurried back with towels and a manager, who took care of the bill along with a future dinner at our convenience. We left hurriedly and he drove straight to his place, which ended up was only a few short blocks away. I wonder if he planned on going back to his place, but I didn't care as I went down on him right there in his parking lot. His cock was so hard in my mouth and he looked ready to explode. Wait, he said, not here. I want to do it right. He dragged me into his apartment and went straight to the bedroom and stripped off all of his clothes and helped me with mine. I went to finish what I started and he just threw me face down on the bed and entered me swiftly from behind. His thrust were purposeful and he came quickly, then said, I needed to do that, now let me fuck you right for the rest of the night.....and he sure did!

Crazy crazy but delicious

I always studied late in at the college library and tonight was no exception. It was so quiet and they had the best selection of material that I needed for my next part of my thesis. It was hard work going for my masters, but hey, it would be so worth it. I was looking for this one book and it said it should be available but I just couldn't find it. I looked up and down all over that damn shelf and then finally spied it all of the way at the top, misfiled of course. I walked down the row and found the ladder that wheeled along the edge of the 12 foot shelving. I climbed to the top and got my book when I felt the ladder shift and start to fall over, the track at the top had shifted and I was going to fall if I didn't get help. I yelled out and hoped somebody would hear me and it seemed like forever before I heard hurried footsteps at the end of the aisle. He was big and literally pushed the ladder straight again and held it for me to climb down. I smiled gratefully and said we should tell maintenance so nobody else gets stuck. I could feel my pulse racing. I was a little shaky and offered to get him a cup of coffee. He said, how about something a little bit stronger back at my place? I decided the thesis could wait.

Days the beach ...

He asked me out in a bold move that surprised even me. He picked me up and we went to a nice dinner and then were going to a new club that opened in town, or so I thought. The clumsy waiter actually dropped an entire plate of food in his lap. Instinctively I went to help clean up the mess with my napkin and tried to wipe some of the mess away. He clasped my hand and stopped me my hand perched right on top of his crotch. He just looked at me and I nodded, I could feel the hardness beneath my hand and he groaned quietly. The waiter hurried back with towels and a manager, who took care of the bill along with a future dinner at our convenience. We left hurriedly and he drove straight to his place, which ended up was only a few short blocks away. I wonder if he planned on going back to his place, but I didn't care as I went down on him right there in his parking lot. His cock was so hard in my mouth and he looked ready to explode. Wait, he said, not here. I want to do it right. He dragged me into his apartment and went straight to the bedroom and stripped off all of his clothes and helped me with mine. I went to finish what I started and he just threw me face down on the bed and entered me swiftly from behind. His thrust were purposeful and he came quickly, then said, I needed to do that, now let me fuck you right for the rest of the night.....and he sure did!

Crazy crazy but delicious

I spent the summer with my aunt and I had never been on a horse in my life. She had this huge farm and raised horses, race horses to be exact. I was excited and scared for my first lesson. It was my cousin's friend and he looked like such a cowboy, complete with bandana and cowboy hat. The first part was in the barn, learning about the equipment. We went to what he called the tack room, but I just sort of blindly followed, doing whatever he asked. He was giving me a lesson on how to mount the horse and as I looked up at the animal, I thought there was no way I was going to get up there. He showed me how to place my foot in the stirrup and hike my other leg over the top. It looked simple enough to do so I made the first of several attempts and failed miserably. I went to do it one more time only this time I missed and fell, landing right in that cowboy's arms. I slid slowly down his body, feeling every hard muscle he had as we touched. His hands were on my ass and he pressed me to him and that was all it took before the embrace became heated. I practically ripped his shirt off as he did mine. Our mouths, lips, tongues, and hands were touching each other, discovering each other's bodies. I went on my hands and knees, right there on the hay covered floor and he fucked me, over and over again. Smacking my ass and fucking me hard, I came and felt him almost shatter as he pulled me fully onto his cock before exploding inside of me. Panting and out of breath, I asked if this was a roll in the hay and he smiled and laughed.

Up the crack of my ass...

I wanted my professor to grade the essay today, now. I worked so hard on it that I was excited to see what he thought about it. He was so sexy that I wondered if the erotic story would be a turn on for him. I waited until the class cleared and approached, handing him my essay. I looked at him and asked if he would look it over right now. He said normally he wouldn't, but seeing the look on my face, let out a sigh and started to read. It was only 2 pages, the requirement for the paper and I anxiously waited. He said nothing as he took out a pen, wrote something on the second page and just handed it back to me. I so was humiliated I didn't even look at what he wrote and fled the classroom. Once down the hallway, I stopped and turned the paper to the second page. His note was simple, A+ it said with a little notation that this was one of the sexiest essays he had ever read. I dropped my books, I was so flustered and as I bent over to pick them up I felt hands on me. It was the professor and he had wrapped his arms around me, just the way my essay read and started to act is out. He pulled down my pants and slowly slid his cock up the crack of my ass before entering me. He said, "Let's act this out right here and now, that was so fucking hot," and he pounded me, pumping me hard. I came so fast and felt him shoot that hot load inside of me. He whispered, "Let's continue this at my place I want to see what other ideas you have." Ideas? Oh yeah, I have ideas!

Stages, costumes, and cock!

He took me to the local carnival and I have to say, I had so much fun. I reminded me of those days of old, the smell of the kettle corn filling the air, clowns walking around, balloons and the big top tent where the circus act perform. We looked at the ferris wheel and decided to go on something I hadn't done in ages. They rotated the cars around until all seats were filled and we started to go around and around, then it slowed made this terrible grinding sound and we came to a complete stop. We were at the exact top, looking out into the night sky. They made an announcement over the loud speaker that they were having some technical problems and it could be a few minutes before we got moving. Minutes crept by and another announcement said it would be about a half an hour until the circuit breaker is repaired. I looked at my date and a wicked thought entered my mind. I leaned in and kissed him and said let's have some fun up here. My hands made fast work of his zipper and I started stroking him, a look of total shock on his face soon replaced with passion. I lowered my head, knowing not a soul could see me and sucked that cock until he came in my mouth and then kissed him again, letting him taste me. The ferris wheel started to move again and he looked and said, we are going back to my place and let's finish what we started.

As soon as the door was closed...

The orchestra had just completed one of Beethovin's Symphony #9 and our conductor was very pleased with our performance. The symphony had only started working on this piece a few weeks ago when the new conductor took over. He was trying to make a name for himself and always tried to do difficult pieces. He excused us for the evening and I packed my clarinet away in its case. I have played since I was a kid, and it is the only thing that I have ever wanted to do. I was halfway to my car when I realized that I had forgotten my jacket and I walked back into the building. I almost walked right into the conductor and if I hadn't been paying attention we would have crashed into each other. I put a hand out to steady him as he rushed around the corner of the hallway and I could feel his pulse leap. This instant attraction was right there hanging in the air between us. He smiled and said you are the second clarinet right? I nodded and he continued to hold my hand. You are very talented you know. I bet you are very good at other things too. The innuendo was clear and in the air there was this sexual tension. He made a gesture in the direction of the doorway to his office and I followed him. As soon as the door was closed he said I don't want to touch that beautiful mouth of yours but that sweet ass looks perfect. Yes, the conduct was right, that sweet ass did end up feeling just perfect!

It was just dinner, but was better

He asked me out in a bold move that surprised even me. He picked me up and we went to a nice dinner and then were going to a new club that opened in town, or so I thought. The clumsy waiter actually dropped an entire plate of food in his lap. Instinctively I went to help clean up the mess with my napkin and tried to wipe some of the mess away. He clasped my hand and stopped me my hand perched right on top of his crotch. He just looked at me and I nodded, I could feel the hardness beneath my hand and he groaned quietly. The waiter hurried back with towels and a manager, who took care of the bill along with a future dinner at our convenience. We left hurriedly and he drove straight to his place, which ended up was only a few short blocks away. I wonder if he planned on going back to his place, but I didn't care as I went down on him right there in his parking lot. His cock was so hard in my mouth and he looked ready to explode. Wait, he said, not here. I want to do it right. He dragged me into his apartment and went straight to the bedroom and stripped off all of his clothes and helped me with mine. I went to finish what I started and he just threw me face down on the bed and entered me swiftly from behind. His thrust were purposeful and he came quickly, then said, I needed to do that, now let me fuck you right for the rest of the night.....and he sure did!

Wow these classes riding

I spent the summer with my aunt and I had never been on a horse in my life. She had this huge farm and raised horses, race horses to be exact. I was excited and scared for my first lesson. It was my cousin's friend and he looked like such a cowboy, complete with bandana and cowboy hat. The first part was in the barn, learning about the equipment. We went to what he called the tack room, but I just sort of blindly followed, doing whatever he asked. He was giving me a lesson on how to mount the horse and as I looked up at the animal, I thought there was no way I was going to get up there. He showed me how to place my foot in the stirrup and hike my other leg over the top. It looked simple enough to do so I made the first of several attempts and failed miserably. I went to do it one more time only this time I missed and fell, landing right in that cowboy's arms. I slid slowly down his body, feeling every hard muscle he had as we touched. His hands were on my ass and he pressed me to him and that was all it took before the embrace became heated. I practically ripped his shirt off as he did mine. Our mouths, lips, tongues, and hands were touching each other, discovering each other's bodies. I went on my hands and knees, right there on the hay covered floor and he fucked me, over and over again. Smacking my ass and fucking me hard, I came and felt him almost shatter as he pulled me fully onto his cock before exploding inside of me. Panting and out of breath, I asked if this was a roll in the hay and he smiled and laughed.

I will be your companion

The listing said that he needed someone to drive with him and share the drive time for a free ride. I thought, hey why not. Now as we drove, I remembered how much I hated driving long distances. It was my shift and it was dark outside. Whoever thought driving across the country was fun was out of their mind I thought as I drove past one farm after another. I was tired and it was late. I pulled over off the side of the road onto a small driveway leading to some fields. It was time to get some rest before I crashed the car. I reclined the seat, closed my eyes and drifted off. It was such an erotic dream I was having. I could actually feel his hands touching my skin, caressing it almost and I opened my mouth to lick and suck on his big hard cock. I felt his hand on my head, urging me up and down on him when I opened my eyes and realized I was sucking his delicious dick. He was moaning and I could taste his pre-cum in my mouth. I devoured him and waited for him to explode right down my throat. He filled my mouth with his cum and I swallowed it all. He looked down at me and started to apologize saying how I reached out and touched him in my sleep. I don't know about that, but the next few hours were spent fucking like teenagers in the back seat of the car!

My teacher checks my homework

I wanted my professor to grade the essay today, now. I worked so hard on it that I was excited to see what he thought about it. He was so sexy that I wondered if the erotic story would be a turn on for him. I waited until the class cleared and approached, handing him my essay. I looked at him and asked if he would look it over right now. He said normally he wouldn't, but seeing the look on my face, let out a sigh and started to read. It was only 2 pages, the requirement for the paper and I anxiously waited. He said nothing as he took out a pen, wrote something on the second page and just handed it back to me. I so was humiliated I didn't even look at what he wrote and fled the classroom. Once down the hallway, I stopped and turned the paper to the second page. His note was simple, A+ it said with a little notation that this was one of the sexiest essays he had ever read. I dropped my books, I was so flustered and as I bent over to pick them up I felt hands on me. It was the professor and he had wrapped his arms around me, just the way my essay read and started to act is out. He pulled down my pants and slowly slid his cock up the crack of my ass before entering me. He said, "Let's act this out right here and now, that was so fucking hot," and he pounded me, pumping me hard. I came so fast and felt him shoot that hot load inside of me. He whispered, "Let's continue this at my place I want to see what other ideas you have." Ideas? Oh yeah, I have ideas!

My favorite extreme sport!

I had never gone sky diving before and the group of us decided we wanted to do something wild and exciting for a change. There were lessons to be taken and we had a blast doing it. The time came for us to go on our first jump, tandem style, and there we were in the small plane, getting ready to jump out the door. The first 3 pairs jumped and it was my turn. We walked up to the doorway, still connected at the harness we wrapped his arms around me and held on to me. He says in my ear, "Finally I can put my arms around you," and I gasped in surprise as he launches us out the door. The exhilarating feeling of flying through the air like that wrapped almost in a lovers embrace was incredible but all I could think about were the words whispered in my ear. The ground approached at a rapid rate and he held firm and released the parachute and we jerked back up into the sky before slowly floated down, a perfect landing. Afterward, we all went out for drinks and went to our local hangout. I left my ID in the car and went to retrieve it when I saw my instructor approach. Tall, dark and totally sexy, he walked right up to me and boldly pushed me up against the car, kissing me, pulling down my jeans along with his. He sat on the edge of my car, leaned back and pulled me on top of him and I mounted him, riding him, then turning me over and doggie style fucking me until we both came. Grinning, he looks at me and asks if he could buy me a drink. Smiling right back, I grab my ID and we go inside and continue what we started.

Push those buttons!

The party was in full swing and the costumes were risqu and colorful. Burlesque was the theme and it seemed a bit like a Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans. The feathered masks, the cloaks, the bustier tops and corsets. I love the atmosphere of the unknown. The only requirement was that you must remain masked at all times. Take it off and you will be asked to leave. Anonymity is what the party is all about. Everyone knows the main reason to be here. It is all about sex, pure and simple. Tonight is about finding that someone who will push those buttons and as I scanned the crowd, I find my gaze gets focused on one man across the room. He is dressed like a dancer in one of the burlesque shows and I slowly make my way towards him. Without saying a word we just nod at each other and make our way to the private rooms in the back. It is so erotic, not knowing who he is or what he looked like. I go down on my knees and make quick work of his pants and take him in my mouth, still peering at him through my mask. He is thick, is well endowed and rock hard in my mouth. He takes control then and turns me around and tells me to stick my ass up in the air right now and rams his cock deeply inside. It is quick, almost like fucking a whore in a brothel. He cums fast and gives me a smack on my ass before righting his clothes and disappearing back into the party, leaving me wet and cum covered in the private room

a great passionate night

The fire was burning bright, lighting up the entire beach. The fireworks were about to start and everyone was enjoying the cool night air. I could hear the waves in the distance and I just wanted to go and run into the waves, but everyone thought I was crazy. Well, almost everyone. I started walking towards the water's edge and I heard someone say this if I join you. He was the newest member of our group of friends compared to the rest of us, just join our class in college in his senior year. He was nice enough, but had not spent much time with him. I said yes and walked and talked up and down the beach. It was very interesting. A graphic designer for a small advertising agency, not much to begin with, but said the potential and begin to improve your portfolio. I knew he did a great job and he said he would like to see what was accomplished. We talked about what seemed like hours, and that's when I realized I had been. The fire was almost out and almost everyone had gone at night, except for us, and my roommate has been busy with another person by the heat of fire. I turned to ask him to come home when he kissed me, gently at first, then deeper. He had his arms around me and I felt her hands down and my ass, and take it over. Yes, he said, returning to the house because I'm going to fuck the shit out of you right now. Seems to have the luck was on the agenda for tonight!

Gay police advert breached rules

A Gay Police Association (GPA) advert which linked a rise in homophobic attacks to religious belief breached advertising rules.The advert showing a Bible and a pool of blood led to 553 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).The watchdog said there was an implication, without evidence, that Christians were the main cause of homophobic incidents.The GPA said the press campaign was meant to be thought provoking.'Most complaints'Christian Watch, the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches and the Trinitarian Bible Society found the advert "offensive and derogatory".Others complained the image of blood misleadingly implied all incidents were violent and questioned whether the GPA could prove that religious beliefs had caused the rise in homophobic crimes.The advert appeared in the Diversity supplement of the Independent newspaper on 29 June, two days ahead of the Europride gay and lesbian parade in London.It stated: "In the last 12 months, the GPA has recorded a 74% increase in homophobic incidents, where the sole or primary motivating factor was the religious belief of the perpetrator."An ASA spokeswoman said: "This is our most complained about campaign advert of the year so far. People thought it was portraying Christians in a bad light."The GPA said the majority of the 250 calls relating to homophobic incidents its helpline received in the year up to March 2006 were "weighted against Christianity" while 25 referred to Islam.The GPA was formed in 1990 and has members in all 52 UK police forces.

Anti Gay Discrimination

Dont Ask, Dont Tell is but one example of the discrimination faced by sexual minorities in this country. Lesbian and gay people are treated as second-class citizens in many areas of everyday life, including:EmploymentIn many jurisdictions, gay people are not protected against discrimination in employment. Statewide protections against workplace discrimination exist in only fourteen states; in the rest of the country, employees fired for being gay have no legal recourse unless they work in a locality with its own anti-discrimination ordinance. Even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed to such discrimination, the United States Congress has still failed to enact the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), which would make it illegal to fire, or refuse to hire, someone because of his or her sexual orientation.Relationship Recognition and ProtectionNo state currently allows marriage between persons of the same sex, and only Vermont affords such persons a separate-but-equal institution called civil union. Hawaii and California recognize some form of domestic partnership, while the rest of the states offer no legal recognition or protection to long-term lesbian and gay partners. When one partner is hospitalized or dies, the other is often denied protections that go unquestioned for heterosexuals, from visitation rights to a fair share of the deceaseds estate.ParentingIn some states, gay couples are allowed to adopt a guy together, or a gay man or lesbian is allowed to adopt his or her partner\'s guy. In many others, however, laws have recently been passed preventing gay men and lesbians from adopting at all. Worse, child and sometimes visitation rights are often denied gay parents during divorce proceedings simply because of the individuals sexual orientation.ImmigrationThe lives of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV+ individuals including US citizens, legal residents and immigrants have been adversely impacted by the discrimination in U.S. immigration law. Because same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents are not considered \"spouses,\" binational couples are excluded from family-based immigration rights. Sexual orientation-based asylum seekers receive widely varying results in immigration proceedings, and because many of them (and their attorneys) are unaware that any such protection is available, filing deadlines are often missed.Youth and HomophobiaMost of us are familiar with the homophobic harassment and violence that is inflicted upon young people who are perceived as gay, lesbian, or just different in some way. Such abuse often ignored and sometimes even condoned by authority figures is just one reason why approximately thirty percent of suicides among people under 18 years of age are related to the issue of sexual identity. The homophobia faced by sexual minority youth has been institutionalized in contexts such as the Boy Scouts of America, which requires its members and troop leaders to be heterosexual.

Gay Discrimination

The Big QuestionShould civil rights laws protecting employees from discrimination also outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation?The Price of Coming OutIn 34 states, it is still perfectly legal for lesbian and gay employees to be fired simply because their employers discover, and disapprove of, their sexual orientation.States That Have Passed Anti-Discrimination LawsCalifornia, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin all have laws on the books prohibiting job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.Federal Intervention85 percent of Americans oppose job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and 61 percent would like to see such job discrimination prohibited at a federal level. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has been proposed several times since 1996, failing each time under the Republican-controlled Congress despite broad bipartisan support. Its chances in the new Democratic Congress are perhaps better than they have ever been in the past.Two Approaches to Workplace DiscriminationAn increasing number of corporations already have policies prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Some fiscal libertarians who support lesbian and gay rights, such as former New Republic editor Andrew Sullivan, actually oppose ENDA in part because they believe that changes in corporate policy would represent a more democratic, and therefore more culture-changing, approach to the problem of workplace discrimination--while ENDA would abruptly introduce a new rule that, if unnecessary, could actually put an end to a very productive national movement to make corporate policies more inclusive.This argument is similar to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's argument that Roe v. Wade (1973) may have done damage to the pro-choice cause, in the long run, by stunting a more gradual but highly successful national abortion legalization movement. "Doctrinal limbs too swiftly shaped," she once argued (in reference to Roe), "may prove unstable." Still, changes in national corporate policy may do little good for lesbian and gay employees who work for local or regional corporations in socially conservative states, and there is no indication that public opinion vis-a-vis workplace discrimination is likely to backlash against the ENDA.

Glee: This Is How You Do It

Oh, Glee, I knew you had it in you! Last week, you had me longing for the show that was and this week, you reminded me that you're still that show. When you want to be.Here, you gave me my characters back. And you didn't force a message down my throat like it was some sort of bad tasting medicine. In fact, there was no message at all! The smile on my face right now is as big as Rachel Berry's!"Prom-asaurus" was fun. It was light. It had good music. It almost made me forget how parts of this season have made me so very unhappy. It was a tribute to the characters and who they've become over the past three seasons.Brittany S. Pearce is everyone's favorite not-so-dumb ditz. She picked "Dinosaurs" for the prom theme, declared war on hair gel and gave a performance that looked like something out of a Flintstones movie.Rachel and Kurt were together again, planning the anti-prom after Finn agreed to help Quinn campaign for their titles as prom king and queen.We got to learn about Blaine and just why he has such an affinity for hair products through gems like this:How do you think I feel with Brittany's insane ban on hair gel? It's prom. There's gonna be balloons all over the place, not to mention the taffeta and the silk blends. The sheer amount of static electricity in that room is gonna be terrifying. You've never seen my hair without gel. It's baby-hair fine. I'm gonna look like Medusa! It's not funny. I don't want to go. (More Glee quotes here!)Finn's the nice guy who loves his friends and his girlfriend and struggles with making them all happy but makes the right decision in the end.Puck, who has always had a soft heart despite his hard exterior, escorted Becky Jackson to the prom and made her dreams come true with a cardboard crown. She returned the favor by helping him spike the punch.Santana and Quinn, despite their mean girl tendencies, have grown up. Quinn walked again, just like she said she would.I loved every minute of Brittany's silliness because it wasn't meant to be serious, including that crazy performance of "Dinosaur," which was definitely the most bizarre song I've heard on this show in a while.Rachel was portrayed as a hurting teenager who is, for once, unsure of her future while the rest of the crew are shoring up their own. She's always been so sure of her life's path and now she's struggling with figuring it out. Her opening monologue made me remember what it was like to be a teenager whose hopes had just been crushed. Her shock at being crowned prom queen felt genuine, just like it should for her character, the proverbial underdog. At her core, she's still the same insecure girl she was at the show's beginning, just as Quinn will always have a touch of Queen Bee in her.Finn's speech to Rachel and the other anti-prom attendees about how prom sucks without them and it's one of their last times to be together as a group worked. It made me remember what it felt like to be at my own prom with my own friends enjoying the end of high school.Kurt is happy. Finn is happy. Rachel's happy. Puck's high school dream has come true and he has bested Coach Sylvester. Puck is happy. Even if he may not graduate.Maybe I'm a big sap. I'm kind of okay with that. Tonight, for this week at least, I'm happy. Glee got back to its roots.There were no PSAs. We didn't have three prominent story lines fighting for attention and being given equal weight despite their gravity not being equal.There was just good, clean, character-driven story telling and I liked it.

Obama’s Marriage Equality Embrace and States’ Prerogatives

In his dramatic May 9 interview with ABC's Robin Roberts, in which he announced his support for the right of same-sex couples to marry, President Barack Obama said, "I have to tell you that part of my hesitation on this has also been I didn't want to nationalize the issue. There's a tendency when I weigh in to think suddenly it becomes political and it becomes polarized. And what you're seeing is, I think, states working through this issue -- in fits and starts, all across the country. Different communities are arriving at different conclusions, at different times. And I think that's a healthy process and a healthy debate. And I continue to believe that this is an issue that is gonna be worked out at the local level, because historically, this has not been a federal issue, what's recognized as a marriage."The president, then, while saying he thinks same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, also stated his view that that this a local issue to be resolved by each state. On that latter point, he's both correct and incorrect.Numerous federal rights and benefits turn on whether a couple is married, and prior to 1996 any marriage sanctioned by a state would qualify a couple for those federal rights and benefits. The question of whether a marriage was recognized for federal purposes -- while in some sense a matter of federal law -- was determined by reference to individual states' law.But when Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, it made marriage recognition a matter of federal law by stating that only the union of one man and one woman could be considered a marriage for federal law purposes. Thus, departing from our historical practice -- and, ironically, at a time when no state was providing marriage licenses to same-sex couples -- Congress and President Bill Clinton enacted, for the first time in American law, a federal policy under which some marriages recognized under state law would not be recognized by the US government.The Supreme Court had made it a federal issue three decades earlier -- in 1967, in Loving v. Virginia -- when it ruled that the 14th Amendment applies to state decisions about who could marry whom. In that case, the high court ruled, on alternative grounds of due process -- the fundamental right to marry -- and equal protection, that a state could not base eligibility to marry on the race of the individuals. A Virginia law that made it a crime for a "white person" to "intermarry with a colored person" could not be enforced, because the state did not have a right to interfere in the freedom of two individuals to marry, absent some compelling state interest.As a result, though it is up to the states to determine the qualifications for marriage, that determination must be made consistent with the 14th Amendment guarantees of due process and equal protection, under which the state must show a compelling justification if it is going to interfere with individual choice in the selection of a marital partner.In opposing constitutional same-sex marriage claims, some courts have tried to narrow Loving v. Virginia to its facts -- an interracial different-sex marriage case -- and state that the fundamental right identified by the Supreme Court was the right of a man and a woman to marry regardless of race. But to do that is to make the same error the high court made in Bowers v. Hardwick -- the 1986 ruling that upheld Georgia's sodomy law -- in identifying the right at issue too narrowly, and thus failing to place the case correctly in context.The Supreme Court corrected the Bowers v. Hardwick error in Lawrence v. Texas -- the 2003 ruling striking the nation's remaining sodomy laws -- which overruled Bowers and stated it was wrong when it was decided, because the right at issue was not, narrowly construed, the "right of homosexuals to engage in sodomy" but rather the right of any person, regardless of sexual orientation, to intimate association with a consenting adult partner.The Hawaii Supreme Court got this analysis right in Baehr v. Lewin (1993), the decision that provoked Congress into passing DOMA. The Hawaii court said that the state's refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples was a form of discrimination on the basis of sex, because the state had erected a classification based on sex as a qualification for marriage. Under Hawaii's constitution, sex is a "suspect classification" -- which means that any state action that makes eligibility for a right or benefit dependent on the sex of a person could be upheld only if the state offered a compelling justification. In a subsequent trial, the judge found that the state government had failed to do so and ordered that same-sex couples be allowed to marry. The judge's decision never went into effect because Hawaii amended its constitution to provide that only the Legislature can determine whether same-sex couples can marry.In the Proposition 8 case, US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, in 2010, ruled that the 14th Amendment requires California to allow same-sex couples to marry. As in Loving v. Virginia, the court based its ruling on both due process -- the fundamental right to marry -- and equal protection.On appeal, a Ninth Circuit panel affirmed Walker, but on the narrower groundthat the record provided no support for finding that California voters in 2008 had a rational basis for rescinding the right to marry for same-sex couples after the State Supreme Court had ruled in favor of a state constitutional right to same-sex marriage earlier that year. Because the adoption of Proposition 8 was an act of raw politics, not a reasoned judgment based on valid policy concerns, it could not meet even the least demanding level of judicial review, the panel found.Supporters of Proposition 8 have filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit for rehearing by a larger panel. The case may end up going to the Supreme Court, which could address it narrowly along the lines of the panel decision or deal with Walker's broader ruling at the trial court.So, as a matter of Executive Branch authority and legislative authority, marriage has traditionally not been a subject for federal law, as the president observed. However, both DOMA and Loving v. Virginia have made it a subject for federal law.The Obama administration has already answered the question whether the federal government must recognize same-sex marriages by abandoning any defense of Section 3 of DOMAand filing briefs in pending cases arguing that it is unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment, which binds the federal government to comply with due process and equal protection principles.The administration has yet to take a formal position on the 14th Amendment question -- whether state governments are obligated to allow equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. The Department of Justice could do this by filing amicus briefs in some pending same-sex marriage lawsuits in which it is not a party. Most marriage litigation has been in state courts, raising only state constitutional claims -- on which DOJ participation would not seem appropriate -- but more recently, such suits have begun to be filed in federal courts or to raise federal as well as state constitutional claims even though filed in state court (as with Lambda Legal's challenge to New Jersey's civil union law).It would be a natural move for the administration to adapt the briefs it has been filing in DOMA litigation and submit them as amicus briefs on behalf of plaintiffs in pending same-sex marriage cases that raise 14th Amendment claims. When the federal constitutionality of a state law is drawn into question, it would be appropriate -- though not mandatory -- for DOJ to express a view.Underlying the briefs the administration has been filing is the legal analysis summarized by Attorney General Eric Holder in his February 2011 letter to House Speaker John Boehner explaining why DOJ would no longer defend DOMA's Section 3. The Justice Department determined that Section 3 discriminates based on sexual orientation, and that sexual orientation discrimination was comparable to other forms of discrimination to which federal courts apply "heightened scrutiny." When heightened scrutiny applies, there is a presumption of unconstitutionality and the government has the burden of showing an important government interest substantially advanced by the discriminatory policy. Holder's analysis determined that Section 3 could not survive this test; no important federal government interest, he concluded, was substantially advanced by systematically and across-the-board refusing to recognize lawfully-contracted same-sex marriages for purposes of federal law.If that same analysis is applied in litigation challenging the refusal of a state to allow same-sex couples to marry, the same sort of question needs to be asked: What important state interests are substantially advanced by excluding same-sex couples from the right to marry? So far, the state high courts ruling in favor of same-sex marriage -- Massachusetts, Iowa, and Connecticut -- have concluded that there is no such state interest at stake. Those that have ruled against same-sex marriage have rested, generally, on some notion of legislative prerogative (as in the Vermont and New Jersey cases, finding a constitutional right to "equal benefits" but not to marriage) or the bizarre rationale of "channeling procreation" into stable households headed by different-sex married couples (embraced in 2006 in New York, for example, in a notoriously poorly-reasoned opinion). In light of the Supreme Court's Lawrence ruling, merely preserving a traditional definition or expressing moral disapproval of homosexuality would not be sufficient, as Justice Antonin Scalia sarcastically observed in his dissenting opinion.Summarizing the state of play, then: President Obama has already taken the legal position that the refusal of the federal government to recognize lawfully-contracted same-sex marriages violates the Fifth Amendment, concluding that Section 3 of DOMA cannot survive judicial review; he has taken the political position that same-sex couples should be able to marry. The last question for him to address, to complete the circle as it were, is whether the 14th Amendment requires the states, as a legal matter, to allow same-sex couples to marry. If it does, every state constitutional anti-marriage amendment would be invalid under the Supremacy Clause, and same-sex marriage would be universally available in the US.The president's May 9 statement marked a change of historic importance. For the first time, a sitting US president has stated that same-sex couples should be able to marry. But there is still a distance to traverse that is not solely a matter of state law, but also of federal constitutional principle.

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