The Supreme Court has accepted two cases that deal with the issue of same-sex marriage. One of the cases is that of Edie Windsor (left) challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) — a law supported and signed by former President Bill Clinton to bar federal recognition of same-sex marriage. On October 18, 2012, the Second Circuit struck down DOMA in Windsor v. United States. Also accepted is Hollingsworth v. Perry dealing with “Proposition 8″ in California.
I will be discussing the cases tonight on Ed Schultz on MSNBC around 8:50 pm.
Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer (above) were a couple for 44 years — engaged in 1967 and married in Canada in May 2007. After Thea died, after suffering from multiple sclerosis complications, the federal government refused to recognize the marriage and taxed Edie’s inheritance from Thea.
In Hollingsworth, opponents of same-sex marriage asked the Court to review the ruling by the Ninth Circuit that upheld a lower court order striking down the amendment of the state’s constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage in California. Notably, however, the Ninth Circuit ruled on narrower grounds: that Proposition 8 violated the Constitution because it took away a right to same-sex marriage that had existed in California as a result of a decision by the California Supreme Court. It did not rule on a broader right to same-sex marriage.
The combination of the two cases is telling and historic. It seems to intentionally offer the broadest scope for a possible ruling. That does not mean that the Court will vote such sweeping precedent, of course. These cases can narrow as result of voting blocks on the Court. Must notably, the DOMA case has some serious standing questions, particularly directed at the members of Congress defending the law. However, there is ample basis in these cases to achieve what civil libertarians have long strived to attain: a recognition of a right to same-sex marriage. It is a remarkable change for a Court that has carefully avoided any ruling on the volatile issue for over a decade.
For those of us who have long supported the recognition of this right, this is both exciting and a bit unnerving. The potential of the ruling would be difficult to overstate. It could be the Brown v. Board of Education for gay couples or their Plessey v. Fergusan. I continue to have faith in the natural progression of the law toward the expansion rather than the limitation of human rights and civil rights. It would seem odd to accept such a broad basis for a ruling only to reach a narrow opinion avoiding the main issue. However, this may come down to Justice Kennedy, though it will be interesting to watch Chief Justice Roberts in oral argument. Roberts could avoid recognizing any constitutional right in favor of a state’s right to determine such questions in Hollingsworth. That would still leave the federal question in Windsor however. The point is that there are always “outs” if the Court split 4-4 with a single swing voter. Obviously, I hope that there is a solid majority on the Court to call the answer of history and embrace the right of marriage regardless of the genders of the couple. This is a Court that not long ago ended its shameful history of allowing the criminalization of homosexuality. Justices like Scalia and Thomas continue to espouse this view, but the Court itself has evolved with society. Hopefully this evolution will allow for a final and elevating recognition of the rights of millions of gay and lesbian citizens.
Just this week the Mexican Supreme Court also took a critical step toward such recognition.
Here is the announcement of the Court:
12-135
12-144
12-307
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2012
CERTIORARI GRANTED
DAN’S CITY USED CARS, INC. V. PELKEY, ROBERT The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted.
OXFORD HEALTH PLANS LLC V. SUTTER, JOHN I. The motion of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States
of America for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The motion of DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted.
HOLLINGSWORTH, DENNIS, ET AL. V. PERRY, KRISTIN M., ET AL.
The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. addition to the question presented by the petition, the are directed to brief and argue the following question:
petitioners have standing under Article III, §2 of the Constitution in this case.
UNITED STATES V. WINDSOR, EDITH S., ET AL.
In parties
Whether
The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. In addition to the question presented by the petition, the parties are directed to brief and argue the following questions: Whether the Executive Branch’s agreement with the court below that DOMA is unconstitutional deprives this Court of jurisdiction to decide this case; and whether the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives has Article III standing in this case.
Antonin Scalia Defends Legal Writings Some View As Offensive, Anti-Gay
By GEOFF MULVIHILL 12/11/12
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/antonin-scalia-book-tour-legal-writings-antigay_n_2274413.html
Excerpt:
PRINCETON, N.J. — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Monday found himself defending his legal writings that some find offensive and anti-gay.
Speaking at Princeton University, Scalia was asked by a gay student why he equates laws banning sodomy with those barring bestiality and murder.
“I don’t think it’s necessary, but I think it’s effective,” Scalia said, adding that legislative bodies can ban what they believe to be immoral.
Scalia has been giving speeches around the country to promote his new book, “Reading Law,” and his lecture at Princeton comes just days after the court agreed to take on two cases that challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Some in the audience who had come to hear Scalia speak about his book applauded but more of those who attended the lecture clapped at freshman Duncan Hosie’s question.
“It’s a form of argument that I thought you would have known, which is called the `reduction to the absurd,'” Scalia told Hosie of San Francisco during the question-and-answer period. “If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?”
Scalia said he is not equating sodomy with murder but drawing a parallel between the bans on both.
Then he deadpanned: “I’m surprised you aren’t persuaded.”
Hosie said afterward that he was not persuaded by Scalia’s answer. He said he believes Scalia’s writings tend to “dehumanize” gays.
Westboro Baptist Church are fearful of the meek gay. That is why they are warring against them. .Westboro Baptist Church acts like the I will do worse to you than them sodomites.
Isaiah 1 >>
King James Version, 15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
It is clear that the Sodomites were religious acting like they we’re godly not being like Jesus is at all.
Ralph:
The only person you are impressing here is yourself. Your approach essentially is to accuse us of evasiveness on the issue and making feeble attacks on those we argue with when in actuality that is the same approach you attempt to use against us and just to point it out, it is not working.
Why don’t you actually make a argument that you are prepared to offer evidence and reason to support and be successful in defending your position with any of the persons you have called out as being submoronic.
How about offering some real examples as to why the Jonathan Turley website is an islamo pandering leftist website. I would be very, very interested in seeing how a person can defend a position such as this when the article contributors have several times weekly brought to light the injustices and inhumane practices of several adherents or policy makers of factions of that religion.
Since you seem to be quite adept at a Cut-and-Paste approach to expression, (other than perhaps not being able to paste the correct link from youtube the first time) look in that online source of big words you paste here such as perhaps merriam-webster.com and actually read what the word pandering means. How does the definition of pandering apply here?
Or maybe support your assertion of “Roberts will undoubtedly be voting for anything that promotes homosexuality. Roberts is a closet leftist” and your support of this position is more metaphor “and you continue with “But the picture of Roberts and his college buddies at Harvard at the bottom of this webpage tells all. The scent of Robert’s “alternate lifestyle” literally leaps off the computer screen”
Well looked at this tome of wisdom and information you provided as the link and this is what I found:
UTR readers have also flooded A3G’s inbox with emails citing the following “evidence” that Judge Roberts is gay:
1. Despite being handsome, brilliant, rich, and nice — in other words, prime marriage material — Judge Roberts didn’t get married until the relatively late age of 41.
How does one evidence this as being a sign of homosexuality? My wife and I did not get married until she was 41 and I was 31. We are not gay. Neither are the millions of others who chose to wait. Would a person who was actually gay absolve themselves of the homosexuality when at 41 they suddenly get married at 41 to a person of the opposite gender?
And another source of proof you offer as gospel
3. Judge and Mrs. Roberts have adopted rather than biological children. (The “theory” behind this fact, it seems, is that we therefore have no “proof” of the consummation of the Roberts’ marriage
Could it be possible one of them has a condition called “infertility” or that they “chose” to adopt for any reason other than failing to consummate the marriage?
And here is more laughable “proofs” you offer: A picture of Justice Roberts eating dinner with two other men along with the caption…
John Roberts is gay! Look at those smiling buff friends snuggled next to the next Supreme Court Justice on Martha’s Vinyard displaying the groumet meal they just made, and THEY will tell you. Now let’s hope Roberts is actually confirmed before he’s outed like a certain New Jersey Governor!
And
4. Judge Roberts has associated with gay people in the past:
(a) As everyone knows by now, he did pro bono work on behalf of gay rights activists, helping out colleagues in their preparation of court filings and oral argument in Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996).
(b) While Judge Roberts was at Harvard, his pre-law advisor was William LaPiana… who was outed as gay
So his law advisor at college was gay proves in your juvenile understanding of logic that Justice Roberts is as well.
It is apparent to probably all the readers, excluding of course yourself, that this is the caliber of evidence you support your arguments with. I would venture to say that based upon this you are one of those who subsribes to the gospel of conspiracy theory sideshow acts.
If you read somewhere in stormfront.org or listened to Art Bell that there were 250,000 Vietcong in British Columbia and 100,000 Mongul Horsemen in the Yucatan Peninsula waiting for the illuminati at the UN to signal the invasion of the US you would be scrambling put on your tinfoil hat and join your friends at the Westboro Baptist Church waiting for God’s rapture against the homosexuals of the world.
But I am going to offer you a chance to disprove my assumptions that you are one who is just some homophobic half wit by actually arguing my destruction of your false evidence against Justice Roberts. But, you will likely just resort to your usual self and that is not to be expected.
Put your money where your mouth is and actually have the courage to go toe to toe against those submorons you name. If not, you are free to depart this bog and pester someone else on stormfront or NAMBLA or whatever you choose. We would all prefer the latter.
Gene,
Ralph was the udderbalden schlong….
Please note that your banter Ralph is just about as funny as that of Hoover. Did you two share a closet in college?
Ralph, I agree Nathan Thurm was one of Short’s great characters. When I comment to you I visualize Ed Grimley..his best charcter.
Let’s try that again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc2o8ywKqos
To Mike, Shano, James, Gene, Darren, Nick, and all the other submoronic, ultraretinesque “mentals” on this Islamo-pandering leftist website: Your lack of knowledge and lack of ability to reason is so evident that destroying your “arguments” is about as challenging as using a machete to cut through melting butter.
Each of you do have one skill, however, and that is an ability to avoid discussing anything that you find “problematic” such as the facts and the truth, and so you simply engage in evasive, jejune banter in an attempt to conceal the facts and the truth. But you should not be patting yourselves on the back for your obvious skills in this area. After all, one cannot expect to be considered a real leftist unless he/she possesses at least some skills in evading the facts and the truth. And good liars and con artists also need to possess this skill at prodigious levels.
Having a discussion with any of you is like me having a discussion with Nathan Thurm. Thurm is an untuous, oleaginous character–much like yourselves–created by actor and comic Marty Short. Here’s a clip of such a discussion with Harry Shearer doing a brilliant comic portrayal of the late Mike Wallace:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc2o8ywKqos&playnext=1&list=PLCBF32D71C70875FE&feature=results_main
Please note, however, that your banter is not funny like Short’s is. Marty Short is, after all, is a marvellous talent and is making fun of pseudo-“intellectuals” like you who are skilled at only one thing: evasiveness.
“Each of you do have one skill, however, and that is an ability to avoid discussing anything that you find “problematic””
Ralph,
I would be happy to discuss anything with you. The problem is none of your comments contain anything but attack on people and things. There is no basis for discussion when all your content is invective.
if the supreme court followed what GOD wrote over the last four years the public would have saved millions. if the religions want to stop same sex unions then the religions need to kill all their off spring. it will stop every freaking problem in the world in a matter of fifty years. God gave you free will. the supreme court was told that same sex unions would be legal more than once over the last four years on other sites.
boehner said that another week was wasted in d.c.
I say that another year got wasted by the congress that was told to go home, in THE BIBLE. the tax payers will pay for it. just like every government was told to close all religious institutions, and don’t even go to a christmas play. the religions are teaching the next generation to speak against GOD. just why is the pooh pooh pope tweeting? is it so pooh pooh can falsely claim to be a middle man and claim that JESUS is king and not GOD? the prophecy says that this is the last popee, is written in cathollowcism. keeping that in mind does any just ice listen to the popee pooh? the pope has said to give all to GOD that belongs to GOD then took it off the site. did the supreme court deny that GOD is here, and religions call GOD A LIVING GOD then the theorists lie to the president.
so there are thousands of things each day that do not get posted because of the churches, with, over 40,000 dead in syria alone. is the christian church also calling them lost?
how long does it take a scientist to make a human eye?
and if james is right about ralph, it is not a problem with GOD. I do not care!