Spontaneous Musings

Read in the Metro on the way to work this morning that Proposition 8 had been declared unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled on Wednesday that the California's Proposition 8 ballot initiative denying marriage rights to same-sex couples was unconstitutional, in a case that will almost certainly go all the way to the Supreme Court.

Walker ruled that Proposition 8 is "unconstitutional under both the due process and equal protection clauses." The court, therefore, "orders entry of judgment permanently enjoining its enforcement." Two key sentences from the ruling:

Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same sex couples.


That's what history sounds like.

Amen to that. Here's the link if you want to get a PDF of the decision to read it: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/08/judge_vaughn_walker_hands_vict.html.

Although I agree this is just the beginning. I'm curious to see what the Supreme Court does. This is in some respects reminds me a great deal of Loving vs. Virginia. Loving Vs. Virgina - was the landmark case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the following is against the US Constitution and not a infringement on religious rights.

Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.

It stated that anti-mis-cegenation laws were a violation of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause. These laws like the ban against same-sex marriage were rules put in place by intolerant people who felt the need to impose their morality onto others regardless of the cost, citing religious freedom as a justification.

This has been the week for controversial human rights decisions. The other big bit of news that keeps making the paper is that the NY Landmark's Commission declared that it was permissible for a Mosque to built at Ground Zero - where the old Burlington Coat Factory retail store once stood. Half of the 9/11 survivors want the Mosque, as a sign of peace and religious tolerance,
demonstrating we are not a racist, intolerant nation and are peaceful. The other half - is offended by the building of the Mosque on this site and is filing lawsuits and screaming in outrage. But there's hope - the detractors are sounding more and more like whining trolls. The Mayor of NY actually supports the Mosque, as do most sane people. Thank god for that.