The recent Supreme Court decisions will have a significant impact on politics here in the U.S. over the course of the next several years, and even the following decades. Until now, the Affordable Care Act has met tension at every corner, and similarly, same-sex marriage has felt that same friction. On June 26th, what is now known as “LGBT Rights Day” the Supreme Court laid out two decisions with decisive votes, and verbiage along with those votes.
President Barrack Obama eluded to it in his address following the courts decision, and anyone observing politics over the last decade-and-a-half has seen it play out in real-time. Marriage equality and the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it’s also known, have dominated every level of politics in this country. Countless elections have been won and lost in the last decade over the very premise of equalizing marriage, and maintaining the Affordable Care Act.
The Affordable Care Act was signed originally into action in 2010, and while the roll out was challenged along the way, as well as seeing its share of ups and downs, the ruling to maintain it is something that has come a very long way. The White House government website pointed out in a fact sheet issued after the decision that more than 137 million Americans now had health benefits, which included regular checkups, medicinal care, and much more all due to the Affordable Care Act.
The White House also pointed out that 16 million Americans who were previously uninsured entirely now have coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act. It wasn’t just a matter of health though, which made the Supreme Court ruling so interesting. Equalizing marriage in the U.S. has been a priority for years, and countless activists have pushed for changes in legislation which prevented same-sex couples from being married. While the decision is overwhelmingly positive, it doesn’t necessarily reflect a total change in the way people view it.
This is why the next several months and years are going to be so important. While the highest court in the free world has made a ruling, some politicians are already continuing their fight against both rulings. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running for President of the United States in 2016 has vowed to take the fight right back to the Supreme Court, to remove their power and authority – giving it back to politicians. The problem though, at this juncture is the divide that will be created due to this continued fight by some.
The Supreme Court decision on both marriage equality and the Affordable Care Act is significant because it marks a point where politicians are left with a decision as well. They can either continue fighting on the issue, or they can move on from the issue – leaving more time for issues that their constituents are more concerned about. As soon as the decision came down by the Supreme Court, many individuals on both sides of the aisle believed this was a point where politicians and Americans could move on and work to continue making the world a better place here in the U.S.
However, if politicians are going to be quick to reignite the fight against both, instead of allowing their polling numbers to start to recover from the beating they took over the last decade on these issues – it could be a long-road ahead of them still. This is the perfect opportunity to create a better world by looking beyond this issue, and having all candidates look at different issues, while allowing this particular fight to end.
Marriage equality and the Affordable Care Act are here to stay, as the President said in an address. It’s time politicians begin accepting that, and moving on to things that are more productive with regards to improving society as a whole.
