Saturn in Libra: Defining Marriage

On October 30, 2009, Saturn entered Libra, and except for a brief return to Virgo from April 8 – July 21, it will remain there until October 6, 2012.

So what might we expect while Saturn is in the sign of marriage?

Well, whereas Uranus aspires to liberate whatever it touches and Pluto’s goal is to transform it, Saturn seeks to define it.

Marriage, or rather the definition of it, has been the focus of a contentious national debate since 1993, when the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the state’s marriage law prohibiting same-sex marriages was a form of sex discrimination.

This ruling (which was rendered moot by subsequent legislative action barring same-sex marriage) sparked a national frenzy among opponents of same-sex marriage that culminated in the 1996 enactment of The Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”).

In addition to creating an exception to the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution so that states could ignore legal same-sex marriages from other states, it also established a Federal definition that explicitly defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

However, DOMA’s enactment did not resolve the issue; rather, it initiated a national movement to legalize or ban same-sex marriage.

As a result, same-sex marriage is legal in Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut, a civil union or domestic partnership with rights equal to that of marriage is the law in New Jersey and Washington; a domestic partnership extending state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples is the law in Oregon; a domestic partnership extending some spousal rights is the law in Nevada; there are no laws regarding same-sex marriage (or even domestic partnerships) in New Mexico; same-sex marriage was rejected by the New York Senate; and the remainder of the nation’s states have either passed legislation banning same-sex marriage and/or adopted DOMA.

However, despite all of this legislation, the battle is far from over.

In fact, it continues to rage on in California. On June 16, 2008, same-sex marriage became legal pursuant to the Supreme Court of California’s ruling that prohibiting it violated the Equal Protection Clause contained in the Fourteenth Amendment. Just five months later in the November election, voters passed Proposition 8, an amendment banning same-sex marriage. Although the California Supreme Court heard several challenges against the amendment, it ultimately upheld it.

Today, California is once again engaged in a legal battle to overturn Proposition 8, but this time it is doing so in the federal arena.

With Saturn in the early degrees of Libra, the first federal trial to determine if the United States Constitution prohibits states from outlawing same-sex marriage is underway in California.

Regardless of the outcome of this particular courtroom battle, most legal experts agree that the war to define “marriage” will be fought – and ultimately decided – by the Supreme Court of the United States.

When one considers the symbolism of Saturn (government and authority) in Libra (marriage and the scales of justice), it certainly suggests that those expert opinions are on point.

So which way will it go?

Well, for now the jury is out, because it takes much more than an analysis of Saturn in Libra to predict the outcome of this matter.

For example, Saturn and Pluto are currently at odds, and in the nation’s chart, Pluto has been (and will be again) challenging the planet of love and marriage by virtue of a series of oppositions. Oh, and let’s not forget that Jupiter and Uranus will be joining the mix as well.

So for now, rest assured that Saturn in Libra will play an influential role in bringing about a landmark decision that will render a legal definition of marriage.

Not only that, but this stargazing attorney will be following it every step of the way.