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I could say it's about time, but this will be appealed to a higher court and waste more money raised by the professional and very Christian bigots in our society.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38560562/ns/us_news-life?GT1=43001
The logic behind the judge's decision is quite simple, equal rights for all. 135 pages of what the judge saw as a case of discrimination, good for him.
What is unequal is that Christian organizations have spread their message of hate for months to defeat this decision. The whole Proposition 8 debate has been fueled by people who don't even live in this state.
Whereas the American Constitution protects religious organizations from government interference, it says nothing about religions interfering with politics. The conservative Christian element takes advantage of this and raises funds across the nation to influence the population on what should be a local state matter.
I could go on for miles, but I expect Brody will give us a more concise look at the matter as it evolves. But as an added tibit of information, the conservative Christian organizations are screaming about Judge Walker supporting the left wing agenda in his decision. Judge Walker was appointed to his seat on the court by Ronald Reagan, the god of the right wing in America...kinda makes you wonder.
[Updated on: Wed, 04 August 2010 22:36]
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
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... and welcome news indeed if all-parties to this issue, everywhere, not just within America, but Worldwide too, could all get on the same-page, and agree that nothing cataclysmic occurs when gender is removed from the equation of a definition of marriage, and collectively the World simply moves on to far greater ills, and concerns.
Chris, your comments on financing, and interference in due process, by religious agencies are spot on, and something over which I've had considerable concern for a goodly long time.
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I daren't post a link to it; but, I do heartily suggest that everyone locate a copy and view the independently produced, and financed, documentary on this subject entitled "8: The Mormon Proposition", for which I provide the following summary:
8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION [U.S.A., 2010, Directed by Reed Cowan, Steven Greenstreet, 80 mins.]
Equality for some.
A scorching indictment of the Mormon Church's historic involvement in the promotion & passage of California's Proposition 8 and the Mormon religion's secretive, decades-long campaign against LGBT human rights.
"8: The Mormon Proposition" initially planned to be a documentary about gay teen homelessness and suicide in Utah, changed directions when director Reed Cowan realized that homophobia, deep-seated in current Mormon ideology, is what causes otherwise loving parents to kick teens out of their homes - and onto the streets. Cowan, along with fellow film makers, experienced first-hand what it is like to grow up gay in Utah, in the Mormon faith.
The teams attention then turned to the historic campaign by the Mormon Church to pass Proposition 8 in California - believing that it was the capstone of an unfortunate ideology, in place for decades,"to damage gay people and their causes."
In 2009, thousands of LGBT citizens are denied almost 200 civil rights their straight, married counterparts enjoy through civil marriage. Some states have signaled progress. But amid the progress, The Mormon Church, with its front-group THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE, has been coordinating, financing and leading the effort to stop the advancement of marriage equality for more than three decades. As an organization worth hundreds of billions of dollars, the Mormon Church has been able to wage this war in secret. Not until the California Fair Political Practices Commission launched an investigation into the Mormon's involvement in Proposition 8, did the secrets of the Mormon effort become a matter of record. Through never-before seen documents, recordings & insider-interviews, 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION, exposes the efforts of the Mormon Church and its members to halt nearly every piece of LGBT legislation on the desks of lawmakers from Hawaii to New York. 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION makes these efforts a matter of record and challenges viewers to demand more of government officials in requiring religions more transparency in their efforts to influence public policy. Emmy-award winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Reed Cowan is a former Mormon who served a two-year mission door-to-door for the Mormon Church. His access to high-level Mormons & Mormon communications on the matter, coupled with his OUT status as a gay man and father of two adopted sons has provided a compelling and at times shocking look at the Mormon way of doing business against LGBT people.
INFO:
STUDIO: Wolfe Vidéo/Red Flag Releasing/David v. Goliath Films
ORIGINAL TITLE: 8: The Mormon Proposition
YEAR: 2010
DIRECTOR: Reed Cowan, Steven Greenstreet
GENRE: Documentary
RUNTIME: 80 min
COUNTRY: U.S.A.
EAN/UPC: 754703763464
LANGUAGE: English
CAST:
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1484522/
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The film is a real "eye-opener" if its' substance is to be believed.
I do know we here in Canada have had some experience of our own with this situation. When The Supreme Court of Canada brought down its' landmark ruling on same-sex marriage, legalizing these unions under Canadian Law, and in effect making Law in of itself by its' ruling, the government of the day and Parliament has two choices, either accept it or recall Parliament and enact Law that would nullify the Court's adjudication.
Then Prime Minister Paul Martin, in consultation with The Privy Counsel Of Canada, not Parliament I might add, made the brave decision to let the ruling stand, and thereby effectively ameliorated progress in the Canadian quest regarding diversity and inclusion in the newly emerging fabric and culture of our society, a process that had begun in earnest some 40-years earlier under Prime Minster Lester B. Pearson when he had convinced ardent socialist and activist Pierre Elliot Trudeau to give up a very successful career teaching at L'Université de Montréal and his nascent practice of International Law and join the Liberal Party in 1965, firstly appointing him Parliamentary Secretary to The Prime Minister and subsequently making him Justice minister in his Cabinet. To say that the face of Canada had forever changed through Pearson's actions would be an understatement, as both time and history has surely proven; and just as surely as those of Paul Martin two generations later will too stand the test of time.
Martin's position was not an easy one for him to be taking either, with his party on the eve of a national election, and his own standing aside in favour of a new Party Leader; additionally his government was confronted with all manner of interference from a disparate group of religious interests, not the least of these being The Vatican, and its' continual, and vigorously renewed, attempts to interfere in our electoral process because of the Supreme Court's ruling and his government's commitment to let the ruling stand. It reached a nexus when the Canadian Ambassador to The Vatican was required by Martin to serve notice that if The Vatican's interference in our Sovereign Affairs did not cease, Canada would have no choice but to bring charges of interference in the International Court at The Hague. Needless to say, The Vatican withdrew, our Parliamentary process, albeit narrowly, affirmed the decision of the Court, and the election proceeded much as expected. The event became known as "Goverment Two, Religious Interests Zero" in an ongoing battle which had begun under Jean Chrètien in his early days as Prime Minister some ten-years earlier, when his government required the CRTC (Canadian Radio and Television Commission) to ban The Christian Broadcast Network from purchasing air-time on Public Broadcast in Canada because of their monopolizing Canadian Television with their over-exuberant evangelistic mission and proselytizing.
We here in Canada, know and understand far too well, the extent of the financial resources these religious groups can bring to bear when they choose to do so, whatever their disguise, and believe me there have been many over the years, with the American Family Values (suitably styled Canadian Family Values) folks only being the most recent; there will be others, and we're awaiting them; but "Separation between Church and State" is more than just a buzz-word, and some fuzzy-logic concept, here. It is the Law and it's vigorously enforced.
Sadly, this is not always the case elsewhere.
Warren C. E. Austin
The Gay Deceiver
Toronto, Canada
[Updated on: Thu, 05 August 2010 11:54]
"... comme recherché qu'un délice callipygian"
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Thank you, Warren. As always you bring depth to any arguement. And for those of you who wish further information, Brody has done so as well on his blog: http://brodylevesque.blogspot.com/search?q=
I know gay marriage per se is not a large issue with some readers. The anti-gay propositions across this country bannng gay marriage have become the hot button issues in our election cycle. This is the way the insidious forces of the Christian right have sought to insert their moral values into the lives of everyone here.
But if you were from another country that allowed gay marriage your right to do so would not be recognized here. I am awaiting the outcome of this whole legal cycle from appeals to the Supreme Court to decide if the fundamental rights of all Americans will be upheld. It follows that if gay people are left out by a Supreme Court decision then we are not fully citizens. Maybe we could all move to Canada.
[Updated on: Thu, 05 August 2010 12:32]
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
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I was listening to NPR news as I traveled home from work. There were interviews of random people on the court decision. One lady hit the nail on the head when she wondered why anyone was surprised that a constitutional amendment denying equal rights to some citizens was overturned. She said that the Bill of Rights guaranteed that ALL men and women had certain inalienable rights. (And she emphasized the ALL.) American's would have been up in arms if there were an attempted amendment to deny certain racial or religious segments of society the right to marry, she said, but it's okay if it's a segment of society you dislike.
Bravo, lady. It's nice to know that there are a few people capable of coherent thought still in the American gene pool.
Youth crisis hot-line 866-488-7386, 24 hr (U.S.A.)
There are people who want to help you cope with being you.
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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Strange, is it not that very recently blacks could not marry whites. And that was not unconstitutional, was it? or was it?
US citizens with Japanese ancestry were interned in WWII.
McCarthy and his communist with hunts are interesting, too.
It's hard to see the USA as a paragon of virtue that adheres to its constitution. It's similar to other nations, of course it is, but why does it write down stuff that it then ignores? And why is similarity an excuse? Bad is bad.
But I suspect it's fine to ignore a written constitution as long as the minority has no power.
I find I support more and more the Black Power salute on the Olympic podium. What a shame gay athletes find it so hard to come out. A Gay Power salute would be interesting in 2012.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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ray2x
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Really getting into it |
Location: USA
Registered: April 2009
Messages: 430
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As stated already by Chris James, it was a Reagan appointed judge who made the legal decision. That judge now faces the ire and storm of the right wing fury. Let's hope the storm passes without more needless politics taking away time from more pressing matters in California, like no budget signed into law yet, an immigration nightmare, and fixing up basic, aging infrastructure like bridges, roads, levies, etc.
Raymundo
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I have said this before....I really like this man, he is the voice of reason and has been on so many issues. I read his column all the time, and now you know why:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/11/1770480/who-has-the-right-to-judge.html
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
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California Gay Marriage Ban Overturned...for the moment 
Re: California Gay Marriage Ban...a voice of reason 
