SHAMEFUL NEWS

DAMN SHAME!

There were two big news stories this past week. The first was in California where the California Supreme Court ruled that Prop Hate must stand, but that the thousands of gays and lesbians who were married last year in California will remain legally married. The decision is not only a blow to marriage equality, but, more importantly, it is a very severe blow to what we supposedly hold dear in this country – non discrimination. Forgetting that the subject matter was marriage equality, what the California Supreme Court said this past week was that a group of citizens could conspire to deny rights to others and that this conspiracy would be legal with enough votes. That means that if I do not like Hispanics I could conspire with a few people to get a ballot measure that would deny access to Hispanics and that would be fine. Or, if I did not like interracial marriage or African Americans or anybody else. What the California Supreme Court ruled is that it is legal to use the Constitution to deny rights instead of convey them. That is a very chilling ruling that could have deleterious ramifications far beyond just marriage equality.

On the subject of marriage equality, the two attorneys who were on opposite sides at the U.S. Supreme Court in the infamous Bush v. Gore are now teaming up to bring federal lawsuits that would in effect eventually reach the SCOTUS (I like the new journalist’s lingo – SCOTUS, POTUS, FLOTUS). Ted Olson, who later served as the Solicitor General for Bush (and argued in favor of the plaintiff in the Michigan higher education case) and David Boies are now joining forces to advance this issue. Their work is causing controversy in the queer community as the more established groups do not feel that it is yet time to make this a federal case. They favor continuing to build momentum through these state by state battles. That is a worthwhile strategy, but it also creates a patchwork of equality and assumes that time is on our side. Well, I would disagree that time is on our side because there are lives being lost and shattered now that will not recover in a few years or benefit in a few years from the rulings should they even go in our favor. So, I said full steam ahead – let us have a two-pronged approach that goes through the states with a track toward a universal ruling.

In Pennsylvania there is an interesting tidbit that shows why this state is often referred to as “Pennsyltucky” signifying the liberal ends of the state (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia) and the very conservative center of the state. A state legislator from Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia is planning on introducing legislation for marriage equality. Meanwhile, another state legislator, this time from Blair County in the center of the state wants to introduce legislation that would add a state constitutional amendment to continue marriage inequality.

The second big story last week was the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to be the next Associate Justice of the SCOTUS. If confirmed Sotomayor would become the first Hispanic to serve on the SCOTUS. I have to admit that Obama apparently hit a home run with this nomination – a woman which he was compelled to do and an Hispanic which is was also compelled to do. Further, Sotomayor has more federal judicial experience as a nominee than any of the current justices when they were nominated. The GOP seems intent now on smearing her good name but trying to deny her place in history, by denigrating her ethnicity, and attacking her intelligence. It is little wonder that anybody wants to be in the spotlight given the intense and overwrought scrutiny that they receive. I mean, step into the celebrity world and see the current stories of Jon and Kate or Susan Boyle. Remember the stories of Britney Spears just a few years ago? It just gets to be ridiculous where we do our best to tear people down instead of building them up. So, to the GOP, you are shameful. And, what is so incredible is that they are attacking Sotomayor for things she said that are identical to what the “conservative” justices on the SCOTUS. When they said it their words were scholarly but her word are contemptible. Oh please, give me a royal break. Let us look into the woman’s record and judge her on that. Let us be proud of her instead of being in contempt of her.

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