I’ve posted before about the Mayors for Marriage Equality, an effort of the Freedom to Marry organization. When this was first introduced, it appeared that the Erie PA mayor had signed on, and then, his name was no longer on the list. A petition has been created on change.org as a way for folks to encourage the mayor to sign on and stay on the list, joining a number of other Pennsylvaniaz mayors. change.org petition[Read More…]
Would that be a place for the Mayor to announce that he is signing on to the Mayors for Marriage Equality list? That would make a spash, right? This is pure speculation on my part, but what do you think? Sound plausible? Possible? Useful to his campaign?
On the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) blog, which really should be named the NOHGP (National Organization Hating Gay People), William Duncan offers what is terms “legal analysis,” but which is actually just sarcastic snarkiness. Nothing either legal or analytical about it. For those interested, the “Heightened Scrutiny Clause” is next to the “Right to Government Funded Healthcare Clause” in the Constitution. Of course, all but one of the federal circuits and the U.S. Supreme[Read More…]
[Emphasis added is mine] A group of congressional Republicans defending the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will appeal this week’s District Court ruling against the law to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier this week, District Judge Jeffrey White, a George W. Bush appointee, found DOMA violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause because it denied benefits to gay and lesbian couples. Some justices on the Ninth Circuit have previously ruled that the[Read More…]
There are two extremely different impressions of the mayor within Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community: some feel he is a homophobe and has only made gestures for the community- just enough to get the support of wealthy Pittsburgh gays. Others believe he is genuinely interested in the LGBTQ community and has acted in ways that are good for the community. Which view is correct? I don’t know.
The truth of the matter, is that the judges did nothing to the vote of seven million voters. The judges looked at the case to determine if the actions were aligned with the constitution or unconstitutional, and they found it to be unconstitutional. It would not have mattered how Prop 8 came into being. If it had been an act of legislation or a referendum vote, it still has to be constitutional. Every law must be constitutional.
Personally, I think this says less about “gay headline policy priorities” and more about the fact that black LGBTQ’s have not been a visible part of the LGBTQ movement all along, from a political perspective.Therefore, what is seen as “major progress” by some is still seen as very little progress by others. I also disagree with the sentence:
In addition to my posting an open letter to Mayor Luke, here on my blog, I have written to him directly requesting a meeting. I eagerly await a reply, however, the mayor has never accepted a request to meet from me in the past, so I am not sure what will happen. I especially appreciate the focus of this statement on the economic impact of Equality. Civil Marriage is a Civil Right. Equality.
But it also seems rational, that since this was a citizen’s initiated effort, that the court will allow citizens to appeal the case to the next level of the court. It is anticipated that at that level, it will win, but if it is allowed to continue, there will be no stopping the case and it will go all the way to the Supreme Court. In this scenario, more people may potentially win, as it could influence the right to marry nationally, but given how conservative the Supreme Court currently is, one can easily imagine the case being decided against Marriage Equality. Bigger potential win, but bigger risk.
This president has done more for the LGBTQ community than any previous president, but that really isn’t enough. No president more than Barrack Obama should understand the underlying Civil Rights that are at stake in the battle over Marriage Equality. This is why we expect him to, in the words of Dan Savage, evolve already.