Thursday, May 15, 2008
Congratulations California!
The New York Times reports on the California ruling here.
In Massachusetts, our local gay press, Bay Windows, reports on it here.
"The 4 to 3 opinion, joined by three Republican and one Democratic appointee, declared that the "fundamental nature of the substantive rights embodied in the right to marry -and their central importance to an individual’s opportunity to live a happy, meaningful, and satisfying life as a full member of society" requires the California constitution "be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all individuals and couples, without regard to their sexual orientation.""
CONGRATULATIONS TO CALIFORNIA. NEW YORK IS ALMOST THERE. MASSACHUSETTS LED THE WAY. SEVERAL STATES HAVE CIVIL UNIONS ALREADY.
THE TIME HAS COME FOR EQUALITY FOR ALL.
ETA: Michael Reagon, the adopted son of President Ronald Reagon and Jane Wyman has expressed his negative view on the California court decision; but there is a poll on his website to express your view on whether the California court had the right to make this decision. Log on here and vote. Scroll down on the left hand of the page. So far the poll is running 95% in favor of the ruling; so add your vote and don't let the bigots win. (BTW, the "liberal" judges he is ranting about, 6 out of the 7 judges were appointed by Republicans.)
There was another anti-gay California initiative called The Briggs Initiative that went down to defeat primarily because of opposition from an unlikely corner:
"Back in 1978, a conservative state senator in California named John Briggs began an initiative to prohibit homosexuals from holding jobs as teachers. Now, I grant that this was California, but remember it was also 1978 and early polls showed 2 - 1 support for the Briggs Initiative. But something unexpected happened in August of that year, as the initiative headed toward a vote. The Governor of California wrote a newspaper editorial opposing the Briggs Initiative on the grounds that it singled out a group of people for unequal treatment under the law. The Governor wrote that the initiative had, "the potential of infringing on basic rights of privacy and perhaps even constitutional rights." Who was that 'activist' governor? Was it Governor Jerry 'Moonbeam' Brown? No, that governor was named Ronald Reagan. Governor Reagan's opposition to the Briggs Initiative is credited with turning the tide and when the final votes were cast, the Briggs Initiative was defeated. Writer Jonathan Rauch wrote in The New York Times that 'Mr. Reagan single-handedly turned the tide against the measure."
And while you are lingering on Michael Reagon's site, you can make a real estate deal for his mother, Jane Wyman's home. He is such a classy guy.
Countess Bedelia 5/15/2008 09:14:00 PM