Ragged 5 months ago under: Opinion Stories, Salon Politics Stories, Table Talk, Democratic Party, Salon Politics Blogs, War Room, Concerned Women
"On Thursday, the California Supreme Court handed down a decision that legalized gay marriage in the state. A press release accompanying the decision says:
The court concluded that permitting opposite-sex couples to marry while affording same-sex couples access only to the novel and less-recognized status of domestic partnership improperly infringes a same-sex couple's constitutional rights to marry and to the equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the California Constitution.
The
I'm still reading through the opinion -- it's quite long -- so I'll have more on this later, but for now my first impression is that the political implications here could be big for November and beyond. (This is, after all, a political blog, so that's what I'll be focusing on here.) First, this decision will undoubtedly be used by the Republican Party to try to reenergize its base. Second, it puts the Democratic Party in an uncomfortable position. The party has largely tried to split the baby by opposing outright legalization of gay marriage, which is still very dangerous politically, and supporting civil unions as an equitable solution. But this decision says civil unions are not the same thing as marriage and shouldn't be treated that way. It'll be very interesting to see what the reaction is from the party and the presidential candidates.
Updat
The court concluded that permitting opposite-sex couples to marry while affording same-sex couples access only to the novel and less-recognized status of domestic partnership improperly infringes a same-sex couple's constitutional rights to marry and to the equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the California Constitution.
The
I'm still reading through the opinion -- it's quite long -- so I'll have more on this later, but for now my first impression is that the political implications here could be big for November and beyond. (This is, after all, a political blog, so that's what I'll be focusing on here.) First, this decision will undoubtedly be used by the Republican Party to try to reenergize its base. Second, it puts the Democratic Party in an uncomfortable position. The party has largely tried to split the baby by opposing outright legalization of gay marriage, which is still very dangerous politically, and supporting civil unions as an equitable solution. But this decision says civil unions are not the same thing as marriage and shouldn't be treated that way. It'll be very interesting to see what the reaction is from the party and the presidential candidates.
Updat
Love is love. It does not have a gender.
What do they mean by gays constitutional rights being infringed upon by not being allowed to marry? Just like all straight people, they are allowed to marry! Just not to a person of the same sex. Gays do not want the same rights as the rest of use. They want special rights.
Its a constitutional thing folks...read it some time. You cannot discriminate against a group of people. If it was taken to the federal supreme court states wouldn't ever be allowed to amend their constitutions to revoke rights. They were made to provide rights not take them away. And they say we are some of the most educated people in this world HA!
sweetthing said "What do they mean by gays constitutional rights being infringed upon by not bein..."
sweetthing: You mean just like when the right to marry was only granted for people of the same race? You could have made the same word-for-word argument back then. And back then, when the courts supported marriage between races, it was equally controversial among people and split among the courts. But do you see us going back to a time when everyone had the right to marry, but only of the same race? And it would be asking for "special" rights to marry someone outside your own race?
Equal rights are equal rights.
Equal rights are equal rights.
HotPinkFizzle said "Its a constitutional thing folks...read it some time. You cannot discriminate ag..."
*agrees with 100% of what HotPinkFuzz said*
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Freedom to choose should be for everyone