THELEAVEN.COM | VOL. 37, NO. 1 | JULY 3, 2015
NEW WORLD ORDER
Supreme Court decisions could have far-reaching consequences Same-sex marriage now the law of the land STORIES BY JOE BOLLIG
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ANSAS CITY, Kan. — Like the slice of a knife, the U.S. Supreme Court cut down state laws blocking same-sex marriage and established it as a new and fundamental constitutional right. On June 26, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a narrow 5-4 margin that same-sex marriage was legal nationwide in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. The majority based its opinion on a new reading of the Fourteenth Amendment, specifically the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.
Archbishop Naumann shares his thoughts on the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling. See page 2.
All states must now issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples and recognize such marriages performed in states that have already legalized them. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and ordinary of the Archdiocese of Louisville, called the high court’s decision “a tragic error.” >> See “RAMIFICATIONS” on page 16
Hospital hails court’s health care ruling
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n a 6-3 vote on June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld parts of the Affordable Care Act that authorized federal tax credits not only for persons who lived in states with health care exchanges, but also states with federal exchanges. This ruling means that residents in states without insurance exchanges — such as Kansas — will still receive subsidies to pay for health insurance. The high court’s decision was hailed by David Setchel, president and chief operating officer at St. Francis Health Center in Topeka. >> See “CATHOLIC” on page 16