For those of you not aware of Prop 8, as it is more commonly called, here is a little history: Prop 8 was an amendment to the California constitution banning gay marriage. From what I understand, this measure was largely a reaction to a previous act that allowed gays the right to marry in the state. The lead up to the vote was marred by controversy and the measure ultimately won out, garnering 52% of the vote.
What this amounts to is that a majority of citizens were able to take rights away from a minority. If that sounds bad, that's because one of the pillars of this country is protection for the minority from persecution by the majority; an especially important consideration in a system where decisions are made by majority vote. Needless to say, this was seen as discriminatory and a handful of gay couples (who had been married under the previous act) took the measure to court.
The court case was heated and featured star lawyers, including Theodore Olson, a conservative and former US solicitor general, and David Boies, who represented Al Gore during the infamous 2000 election dispute. Both sides argued their cases and, yesterday evening, George H.W. Bush installed Chief Justice Vaughn R. Walker found Prop 8 unconstitutional on the grounds that it, "unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates and irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation." (source)
This is an important victory for LGBT marriage, especially in a state with a prominent LGBT community. Frankly I am floored that the decision came through the way it did. Congratulations brothers and sisters, may this add fuel to our fire as we strive for the equality you so justly deserve.
Additional insight and analysis below:
- truthout: Federal Judge Rules California Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional
- MediaMatters: Right-wingers falsely portray judge in Prop 8 trial as out of mainstream
- AlterNet: Judge Rules Against Prop 8: Huge Win Against Bigotry, But the Fight Is Far From Over
- Salon.com: Proposition 8 ruling: Don't pick the caterer just yet
- Salon.com: The anti-gay right responds to the Prop 8 ruling
As with most political victories, this is more of a call-to-arms than a cathartic signal to lay them down, but there's nothing wrong with basking in the afterglow for a few beautiful moments.
Cheers!
P.S. I hope everyone likes the new layout! I felt that the old-new setup didn't exactly capture the spirit of the blog. I think the new layout is both easier to digest and more representative of the intellectual nature of our dialogue.
4 comments:
The best part about this is that the decision seems to be very solid, according to legal scholars. It's thorough, at 80 pages. It addresses every one of the arguments brought by the defenders of Prop 8 and labels ALL of them as legally invalid. The Defense witnesses did poorly under cross examination. It doesn't try to make new law. The capper? The judge quotes writings by Justice Anthony Kennedy, almost certain to be the swing vote when this reaches the Supreme Court. This thing could finally be put away once it runs the appeals gauntlet. Let's hope so.
Justice Walker didn't mince words either.
Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples
He breaks it down as simply as possibly. The prop. 8 decision was privileging one group of people over another, and it very simply goes against the Constitution of California. This nonsense of putting the rights of a minority to a vote is absurd. How do we presume to protect those who exist on the axis of oppression when we allow the majority to vote their lives away?
While I agree with the NPR reporter, that this may be overturned, I sincerely hope it is not. And while I have my opinions about marriage/civil unions that aren't even popular among my LGBTQ friends, I hope this decision stands. This was such a breath of fresh air.
That was a lot of rambling for a first time comment. I usually lurk a lot longer before I throw myself into the fray!
Oh I'd hardly call it a "fray" around here. I only really invite people that I know are going to be intelligent and constructive with their comments. With that in mind your presence on Polis is welcome.
My question is, if this gets all the way up to the Supreme Court, could it have the national ramifications for gay marriage that we hope for? By that I mean, if measures banning gay marriage are found to be unconstitutional, would this suddenly open the door for the passage of gay marriage bills across the country? Or is the Prop 8 decision esoteric enough to ONLY deal with the California law?
Yes, from what I hear this is designed to be a decision that will survive the US Supreme Court. It states specifically that the US Constitution overrules in this situation. Sounds like this has the potential to invalidate laws outlawing gay marriage throughout the land.
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