Monday, March 02, 2009

Update on Marriage Equality Struggle in California


This is the week -- Thursday, March 5th -- that the California Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Proposition 8 case. The best summary of how-we-got-here and what-might-happen-next was in Sunday's Los Angeles Times ... a commentary entitled "Gay Marriage on Trial" ... and you'll want to read it all here ... but here's the intro:
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The argument in the courtroom will be broad and abstract. Who makes law in a democracy? What should we do when laws contradict one another? Who is the ultimate sovereign in the state of California -- the people at the polls or their written Constitution or their appointed judges or their elected legislators? Can fundamental constitutional rights -- inalienable rights -- be withdrawn from one group but not another? These are big, thorny questions with implications that go well beyond whether gays are allowed to marry. What follows is a cheater's guide to the issues at hand. (See the link above!)
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Meanwhile, if you're actually interested in following the arguments yourself, the California Supreme Court has a webpage set up for that -- check it out. And stay tuned. Likely to be a busy week here on the left coast!
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