redheadedfemme | Entries tagged with marriage equality

I've been reading and bookmarking the various court decisions invalidating gay marriage bans, and I must say that this decision, written by a Republican judge for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (said judge appointed by Saint Ronnie, no less!) is far and away my favorite. Judge Richard Posner, in a wry, witty, occasionally laugh-out-loud opinion, absolutely eviscerates the states' arguments. If these arguments are the best Indiana and Wisconsin can do, they should wave their flags of surrender now; it's a terribly weak sauce (as Judge Posner so ably points out) and they should know it.

Do read the whole thing. The opinion is forty pages long, but you'll enjoy every bit of it. (This post's title, as a matter of fact, is only one of many juicy quotes.)
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Crossposts: http://redheadedfemme.livejournal.com/337234.html

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"We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others." ~Will Rogers

Here is the complete text of the decision from Judge Barbara Crabb striking down Wisconsin's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. At 88 pages, it's pretty long, but it's worth reading in full; it seems to me to be quite even-handed and well thought out (with extra bonuses of lots of quotes from Justice Scalia, whose karma is deliciously biting his ass).

( Some excerpts )

I believe the tide has turned. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion how this is going to go when the issue makes its way back to the Supreme Court. Needless to say, in all the states that have allowed same-sex marriage, the sky has not fallen.

It's a wonderful thing.
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Today's decision by United States District Judge Michael McShane, striking down Oregon's same-sex marriage ban, is just great. A few excerpts:

This remains the law of the land, that mere moral disapproval of a particular group of citizens is not a legitimate reason for intentionally withholding rights and benefits from that group.

Additionally, any governmental interest in responsible procreation is not advanced by
denying marriage to gay a lesbian couples. There is no logical nexus between the interest and
the exclusion. See Bishop, 962 F. Supp. 2d. at 1291 ("[T]here is no rational link between
excluding same-sex couples fr;m marriage and the goals of encouraging 'responsible
procreation' .... "). Opposite-gender couples will continue to choose to have children
responsibly or not, and those considerations are not impacted in any way by whether
gender couples are allowed to marry. Nothing in this court's opinion today will effect the miracle
of birth, accidental or otherwise. A couple who has had an unplanned child has, by definition,
given little thought to the outcome of their actions. The fact that their lesbian neighbors got
married in the month prior to conception seems of little import to the stork that is flying their
way.

It is at times difficult to see past the shrillness of the debate. Accusations of religious
bigotry and banners reading "God Hates Fags" make for a messy democracy and, at times, test
the First Amendment resolve of both sides. At the core of the Equal Protection Clause, however,
there exists a foundational belief that certain rights should be shielded from the barking crowds;
that certain rights are subject to ownership by all and not the stake hold of popular trend or
shifting majorities.

Do read the whole thing.
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Red Headed Femme

"I think, therefore I'm single." --Lizz Winstead

Entries tagged with marriage equality

"The discrimination against same-sex couples is irrational"

"Equality is the soul of liberty"

"Even a Rat May Drown a Nation"

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