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.
This article appears in Feb 18-24, 2010.
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I am not sure if you are an attorney and I certainly am not however, I believe the premise of one of your statements is wrong.
You stated, “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.”
This is not necessarily the case. The ACLU and other large gay rights groups have filed amicus briefs to narrow the scope of the case. Yes it is true that it is possible it MAY invalidate ALL gay marriage bans. However, this is not likely given the make-up of the current SC.
To put this in perspective, consider that California is the ONLY state that took away marriage rights from gays and lesbians AFTER they already existed. All the other other gay marriage bans did not strip a fundamental right that was already being enjoyed. This makes the Prop 8 case very unique. It is much more plausible and palatable to some that Prop 8 will be struck down as unconstitutional BUT the decision is likely to be very narrow so as to not touch the other existing gay marriage bans.
In fact, if the Ninth Ciruit (upon appeal) rules narrowly enough so as to only invalidate Prop 8 and making it very clear that their opinion does NOT apply to other gay marriage bans which are within the jurisdiction of the appeals court, the SC may decide to NOT hear the case and let it stand.
I just wanted to point this out to you.
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The arguments offered against same sex marriage are all fallacious—I have yet to hear one that has even the most microscopic validity to it. However, you will never convince the anti-gay murderous mob of this. The truth is that gay people are exactly like heterosexual people in most every aspect including some of the same sex acts that heterosexuals also do—and that is more than anal/vaginal sex also. They make good homes for children (especially gay children, older children and handicapped children heterosexuals do not want or will not take) and many gay people already have biological children of their own. Being gay is NOT a lifestyle or more than heterosexuality is a lifestyle because that is the way gay people are born. A leopard cannot change or be cured of its spots and neither can gay people be changed because there is nothing to be cured of —although they can be made very confused about their sexuality (just as heterosexuals can be) by unethical pseudo-therapists–who usually have some religious ax to grind and more often than not are in psychiatric or at least psychological care themselves.
You may not agree with same sex marriage and may not like gay people but the same thing could apply to you by others. Legally speaking you are expected to be tolerant of those you do not agree with as long as they are within the bounds of the law. The Constitution is somewhat like Dante’s Inferno of the dammed–such as a glutton is brought before a huge banquet of the most delicious foods—but when he tries to eat —he is never allowed to—in other words you can think anything that you wish –but you may not necessarily be legally able to act upon it.
Please join me in flooding and protesting TBN’s anti-gay advocatcy that has and will result in the same kind of Holocaust that the Nazi’s did against the Jews. Join me also in protecting the Human and Civil rights of all people and particularly here in the US where religious factions are trying to take away your rights and murder in the name of their God.
This case is now closed and awaiting the decision of the Court. As I see it—the case against the State and Gay marriage the anti-same sex marriage folks is illegal and amounted to a mob lynching of the Law as well as a high jacking/kidnapping because it violated basic human rights, imposes a specific type of religious values and also tried to overturn the High Court’s previous decision in this matter which ruled that it was legal. The US Constitution (of which California is an absolute subject of and no state may enact valid laws contrary to the US Constitution) states that the people have the right to be free of foreign governments and their influence as well as to be FREE of Religion although the right to worship WITHIN the law as one pleases is tolerated. This is the crux of the illegality of the revoking of same sex marriage because it was done by the Roman Catholic Church, the Mormon Church and allied Christian fundamentalists who have imposed their religious beliefs on the population as a whole. The Roman Catholic Church is a foreign Government (the Vatican) and is meddling in the affairs of States and the Federal Government. It has no right to do so nor does the Mormon Church or the fundamentalists (who also have advocated the holocaustic murders of all gay people, people who know them and their relatives in Uganda–Please send your letters of displeasure and shame on TBN to the TBN network reminding Jan et al that ‘thou shalt not kill; thou shalt do no murder but these folks are doing just that with their tongues—Jesus said so you think so you have done). OF course, all these people who parade around showing off just how Christian and self-righteous that they are are nothing more that the lowest of the low hypocrites. It is none of these people's business who marries who or who loves who—if it were we would have to go around and make sure that everyone was having sex missionary style—which is the law or was the law in many states that is unenforceable because it invades the privacy of the individual–a right also guaranteed by the Constitution. What these religious groups have done is exactly the same sort of thing that the Nazi’s did against the Jews and white racists did against black people during the heyday of the KKK. They are terrorists and a danger to everyone’s right including their own. If I can take away your rights then certainly you can take away my rights. The anti-gay laws as they currently stand of California could and should invalidate the marriages of all heterosexual couples because they create a special class of people–heterosexuals— with special privileged rights.
The punishment of the Catholic Church (which cannot stay out of trouble these days—Ireland has been hit by a huge pedophile situation)should be the dissolving and banning of this church for a century within the United States and territories in addition to huge fines it should pay to every gay man woman and child within California and other states. The Mormon Church should also be made to pay huge fines also. It is not the first time that any Church has been banned within the borders of the US—the first time the US Episcopal Church—then known as the Anglican Church was banned throughout the revolution and for a period of about 20 years afterwards. It was not until about 1820 that it was allowed to again operate and function after a legal reorganization of it within the borders of the US to conform to the Principles of the US Constitution. One of the main reasons that it was banned is that the head of the Church is also the Monarch of England/UK.
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