State Supreme Court takes up same-sex marriage

[cboy4]

Are people going to start getting all bent out of shape -- you know, that this will be used as a wedge issue to harm Democrats from getting elected?

Or are people going to remember that the New Jersey Supreme Court marriage decision that came down before the 2006 mid terms did not cost Democrats congress, despite all of the doom and gloom I read at DU?

Just curious.



Same-sex couples, activists and their attorneys gather for a planning meeting on
Monday, Feb. 25, 2008, in San Francisco. At the end of the table is plaintiff
Stuart Gaffney and his partner of 21 years John Lewis, left.
Associated Press photo by Noah Berger




Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, March 3, 2008

As gay-rights groups call for marital equality and opponents warn of a public backlash, societal decay and religious conflict, the California Supreme Court is prepared for an epic three-hour hearing Tuesday on the constitutionality of the state law defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

It shapes up as the most momentous case the court has heard in decades - comparable to the 1981 ruling that guaranteed Medi-Cal abortions for poor women, the 1972 ruling that briefly overturned the state's death penalty law, and the 1948 decision, cited repeatedly in the voluminous filings before the court, that struck down California's ban on interracial marriage.

The arguments on both sides are weighty.

Supporters of same-sex marriage invoke the state's commitment to equality regardless of gender or sexual orientation, the needs of the children of gay and lesbian couples, the persistence of societal discrimination, and legal rights such as freedom of expression, association and privacy.

MORE-------------------> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/03/MN7KV9PRA.DTL

[jody]

1. I hope people don't misinterpret BO's position on LGBT as quoted in the Catholic News Agency.

Obama promises to dedicate presidency to homosexual activism

"As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws," Obama said.

Obama said he favored civil unions over same-sex marriage laws, but said, "I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples..."

He pledged to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” practice that excludes open homosexuals from military service.

[cboy4]

3. Yea, I don't know too much about the Catholic News Agency.

But talk about a fundie headline.

Despicable, but that's the way things are with this awful new Pope.

Did my dad really work overtime to help send me and my two sisters to Catholic school?

Poor guy.

[idovoodoo]

4. He certainly appears to be saying he thinks the federal government

should not stand in the way of states that want to prohibit same-sex unions too. That sword cuts both ways, or it might be seen as a noncommittal "commitment"...

[Fearless]

2. Of course certain people are going to try to use it as an issue...

But we must make it a non-issue. How? Beats the hell out of me.

[margotb822]

5. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Says it all. Let people live their lives. As long as they don't hurt anyone else, what is the harm in letting people pursue their happiness?

Fear is not an option!