My Jan. 14 letter in The Source mentioned that equality for gays had never been tested in federal court. As is turns out, there's a case right now, which was filed in the interim between when I submitted my letter and when it was published. The case is Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which challenges Prop. 8, the California ballot initiative.
Attorneys for the case are Ted Olson and David Boies. They will attempt to prove that "laws banning gay marriage not only don't make sense, they are unconstitutional." This case is not just about gay marriage, it's, "fighting a new battle; equal rights for all." If it's successful, and it may go all the way to the Supreme Court, it will knock down all existing laws and constitutional amendments that deny gay equality.Rather than repeat two excellent articles on this case, I defer to them. The American Prospect's "The Gay Gamble" (Dec.) and Newsweek's article "The Case for Gay Marriage" (Jan. 18) written by Ted Olson. Here's Olson's superb final paragraph, "Americans who believe in the words of the Declaration of Independence, in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, in the 14th Amendment, and in the Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and equal dignity before the law, cannot sit by while this wrong continues. This is not a conservative or liberal issue; it is an American one, and it is time that we, as Americans, embraced it."
This might be a landmark case of 2010, or even the 21st century. It will have the support of all those who believe in "equality for all people." It's time to join the wisdom of those states and especially those countries around the world that found denying equal rights unconstitutional.
