File this under "no one could have anticipated:"
The sponsors of Proposition 8 asked the California Supreme Court on Friday to nullify the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters approved the ballot initiative that outlawed gay unions.
The Yes on 8 campaign filed a brief arguing that because the new law holds that only marriages between a man and a woman are recognized or valid in California, the state can no longer recognize the existing same-sex unions.
"Proposition 8’s brevity is matched by its clarity. There are no conditional clauses, exceptions, exemptions or exclusions," reads the brief co-written by Pepperdine University law school dean Kenneth Starr, the former independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton.
Attorney General Jerry Brown has already stated that these marriages are unaffected by Proposition 8’s passage. I wonder if this request (demand?) that the marriages be nullified will be seen by the Supreme Court as a bridge too far?
Along with revealing for the first time that they object to carving an exception for already-married couples – a position that puts the future of thousands of unions in jeopardy – it asserts that the Supreme Court lacks the authority or historical precedent to throw out Proposition 8.
"For this court to rule otherwise would be to tear asunder a lavish body of jurisprudence," the court papers state. "That body of decisional law commands judges – as servants of the people – to bow to the will of those whom they serve – even if the substantive result of what people have wrought in constitution-amending is deemed unenlightened."
At first read, this strikes me as an attempt to make the judicial branch subservient to the will of the people and raises, albeit obliquely, the possibility of a recall of Supreme Court judges who do not so bow.
If only there had been an advertisement during the Prop 8 campaign that actually showed marriage licenses being taken away from same-sex couples…. Oh, wait, there was, and it was denounced by everyone in favor of Prop 8, who said that was not the point and that it would never happen.
Liars.
2 Comments
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About FDL Action
Advanced search
Digg is open
This is Obama’s reprise of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” debacle.
Much as Clinton caved on the issue of gays serving openly in the military, Obama undermined his flacid support of LGBT rights with his clear statement that “marriage is between a man and a woman”. Obama’s self-contradictory formal opposition to Proposition 8 didn’t discourage the Yes on 8 campaign. They proudly pictured Obama along with McCain on their advertisements, the two candidates united in support of traditional marriage.
Of course, Obama’s lack of conviction on same-sex marriage has been no worse than his running mate’s, or for that matter, the Democratic Party’s cowardice. But Obama has become the undisputed leader of his Party and an inspiration to all Americans who hope to see the nation make a change for the better. If Obama himself won’t muster up the courage to confront discrimination against LGBT folks, how can anyone expect any more support from Democrats as a whole? Is it not clear that it’s an issue that Obama has declared “off the table”?
Moreover, Obama has become a powerful role-model for oppressed minorities in America. He has set an example for African Americans in particular, whom exit poles indicated as voting over 70% in favor of Proposition 8, on how to vote homophobically while maintaining a clear conscience. In Obama’s America, ethnic minorities have finally won acceptance into the highest reaches of mainstream society, but LGBT people remain firmly shut out.
As many have pointed out, the core source of anti-gay bigotry lies at the heart of the Christian and Mormon church, and its hateful message cuts a wide resonant swath across American ethnic communities. Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics have all bought into Christian propaganda and share responsibility for its virulent homophobia.
However, as a prominent Christian, it is Obama who now leads the way for those who seek to block the acceptance of LGBT people in mainstream society. He has shown them how and where to draw the line that keeps us shut out, while betraying absolutely no animosity or prejudice against us personally. It is exactly the balance of benign neglect that homophobic Christian America can unite around.
This is truly Obama’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” issue, and it is he who has the opportunity to break the stalemate. But until Obama does some genuine soul-searching on his commitment to social justice, nothing that he says is going to make any difference at all.