The California gay marriage ban was struck down by federal appeals court today. Most of the headlines are slightly misleading; what this ruling means is that those individuals who were marriaed before the passage of prop 8 could not have their marriage taken away from them, not necessarily that new gay marriages will be legal. By ruling this legislation unconstitutional, the court upeld a 2010 decision by former Judge R. Vaughn Walker that found marriage to be a fundamental right protected by the Constituion. Opponents of same-sex marriage now have the opportunity to appeal this ruling and take the matter to the Supreme Court for the first time.
Though it remains unclear what this victory will mean for other states and potentially nationally if brought to the Supreme Court, it is still a victory. As the 9th Circle Court of Appeals stated on its ruling:
"Proposition 8 served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California.”
For me, it's great news. A Supreme Court case is surely coming, but it is hard to know what will happen then. Many commentators said that the Appeal court's opinion was written as a direct plea to Justice Kennedy, since he will be a, or THE, key swing vote on the Supreme Court. So the opinion tried to use the same concepts and language that he used in previous opinions.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, this is not a liberal issue: it's an American issue. I am highly impressed the co-lead attorney fighting Prop 8. Ted Olsen, former Solicitor General for Pres. Bush, is an unimpeachable conservative... and from that conservative worldview, he says that marriage rights for gay and lesbian people is a solid American value.
http://www.towleroad.com/2012/02/olson_maddow.html