Prop. 8 Ruled Unconstitutional: A Victory for Justice and Our Families
The Equal Justice Society celebrates the ruling today by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and violates the United States Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law.
According to Judge Walker: “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. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.” Download a PDF of the ruling.
Under the decision, same-sex couples are not immediately allowed to marry. Judge Walker will decide after August 6 whether to stay his order while the case is being appealed, or allow marriages to resume in the interim.
As a racial justice organization committed to working with others to ensure that the rights of all are expanded — especially those who have been historically denied equal protection under the law — the Equal Justice Society opposed Prop. 8.
Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and a member of the EJS board of directors, observed:
“[W]hile we should savor today’s victory, this is just another step in our journey to full justice and dignity for our lives and our choices-including the freedom to choose whether and whom to marry.
“We must continue to reach out and have conversations about our families and our lives with our friends, our loved ones, our allies. By sharing our stories, we win the hearts and minds of others who may not share our views, and create a world where all families are valued and respected as fully equal.”
Read Kate’s full statement here.
Video: Eva Paterson, Tobias Wolff Talk on Prop. 8 at Hammer Forum
Eva Paterson and EJS board member Tobias Barrington Wolff appeared at the Hammer Forum on Sept. 10 to discuss the uncertain future of marriage equality in California. While more states move to legalize same-sex marriage, California has instead eliminated this right with the passage of Proposition 8.
LGBT Legal Groups Decry Obama Administration’s Defense of DOMA
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (EJS board member Kate Kendell is NLCR’s executive director), Lambda Legal, the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, GLAD and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force issued a statement today objecting to the Obama administration’s recent filing in support of the a law that discriminates against LGBT.
(San Francisco, CA, June 12, 2009)—We are very surprised and deeply disappointed in the manner in which the Obama administration has defended the so-called Defense of Marriage Act against Smelt v. United States, a lawsuit brought in federal court in California by a married same-sex couple asking the federal government to treat them equally with respect to federal protections and benefits. The administration is using many of the same flawed legal arguments that the Bush administration used. These arguments rightly have been rejected by several state supreme courts as legally unsound and obviously discriminatory.
We disagree with many of the administration’s arguments, for example that DOMA is a valid exercise of Congress’s power, is consistent with Equal Protection or Due Process principles, and does not impinge upon rights that are recognized as fundamental.
We are also extremely disturbed by a new and nonsensical argument the administration has advanced suggesting that the federal government needs to be “neutral” with regard to its treatment of married same-sex couples in order to ensure that federal tax money collected from across the country not be used to assist same-sex couples duly married by their home states.
There is nothing “neutral” about the federal government’s discriminatory denial of fair treatment to married same-sex couples: DOMA wrongly bars the federal government from providing any of the over one thousand federal protections to the many thousands of couples who marry in six states. This notion of “neutrality” ignores the fact that while married same-sex couples pay their full share of income and social security taxes, they are prevented by DOMA from receiving the corresponding same benefits that married heterosexual taxpayers receive.
It is the married same-sex couples, not heterosexuals in other parts of the country, who are financially and personally damaged in significant ways by DOMA. For the Obama administration to suggest otherwise simply departs from both mathematical and legal reality.
When President Obama was courting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters, he said that he believed that DOMA should be repealed. We ask him to live up to his emphatic campaign promises, to stop making false and damaging legal arguments, and immediately to introduce a bill to repeal DOMA and ensure that every married couple in America has the same access to federal protections.
By upholding Prop 8, the Court has diminished its legacy as a champion of equality
The California Supreme Court today in a 6-1 vote upheld Prop. 8, the ballot measure discriminating against marriage by same-sex couples.
We are relieved the Court protected couples who married before November 5. The presence of thousands of married same-sex couples across California will show those who don’t yet know us that marriage strengthens families and communities and threatens no one.
But by upholding Prop 8, the Court has diminished its legacy as a champion of equality. No minority group should have to defend its right to equality at the ballot. The Court’s decision jeopardizes every minority group in California.
“As a racial justice organization, the Equal Justice Society opposes Prop. 8 – not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because EJS strongly believes in working with others to ensure that the rights of all are expanded, rather than diminished, in our society,” said EJS President Eva Paterson in a previous statement on the issue. Eva participated this morning in a press conference in opposition to Prop. 8.
“We cannot just pigeonhole Prop. 8 as a ‘gay’ issue. By rolling back the fundamental rights of one group, Prop. 8 casts a threat that now looms over the civil rights of all.”
Because the Court upheld Prop 8, it is now crystal clear that we must go back to the ballot, and we are going to win.
Since the vote on Prop 8, there has been a tidal wave of momentum in favor of full equality. Five states now embrace marriage equality for same-sex couples, and several more are on the brink. We believe that California voters will reverse this injustice at the ballot. California has been a leader in standing up for equality, and it will be again.
Banning same-sex couples from marriage is unfair. Same-sex couples have the same hopes, dreams and concerns for their families as everyone else. They should be allowed the dignity, recognition, and responsibility that come with marriage, just like everyone else.
National Center for Lesbian Rights Hails Iowa Marriage Victory
“Today, in a unanimous decision, the Iowa Supreme Court held that the Iowa statute barring same-sex couples from marriage violated the equal protection guarantee of the Iowa Constitution. Lambda Legal represents the plaintiffs in the case,” said NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter. “The National Center for Lesbian Rights filed an amicus brief in support of the couples.”
Visit this page to download PDFs for the decision and NLCR’s amicus brief.
Tobias Wolff: ‘Are Liberties Subject to Majority Vote?’
In an excellent op-ed published in today’s San Francisco Chronicle, EJS board member Tobias Wolff summarizes the core issues facing the Calif. Supreme Court as it considers overturning Prop. 8.
Tobias, a constitutional law professor at U. Penn., rebuts Ken Starr’s argument that Prop. 8 should be considered an amendment rather than a revision to the state constitution, arguing that to agree with the Prop. 8 proponents’ arguments would pave the way for “any protected minority to have its fundamental rights taken away whenever a bare majority wishes to do so.”
In explaining why the structural provisions of the Constitution are so important and deserve special treatment, Starr let slip a reference to what the structural protections of government are actually for: They are designed to safeguard liberty. Therese Stewart, the lawyer for the city of San Francisco, went on to frame the issue succinctly: If we protect the structures of government but leave all liberties to simple majority vote, then we are safeguarding the moat while allowing the castle to burn down.
Read the full op-ed here.
Remarks by Eva Paterson at Prop. 8 Oral Arguments Press Conference
As prepared for delivery at this morning’s press conference:
Good morning.
I’m Eva Paterson, President and co-founder of the Equal Justice Society. I’m here today to stand together with my friends and allies as we ask the state Supreme Court to stand for fairness and opportunity in our society.
Last May, this Court ruled that two people in a committed and loving relationship deserve the dignity and support that come with marriage. The Court said that California is a place where everyone has the chance to realize his or her hopes and dreams.
The Justices were right.
But ruling now in favor of Prop. 8 would not only harm the rights of LGBT folks, it would represent a threat to all of us who are not in the so-called majority in this country.
As a racial justice organization, the Equal Justice Society opposes Prop. 8 – not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because EJS strongly believes in working with others to ensure that the rights of all are expanded, rather than diminished, in our society.
We cannot just pigeonhole Prop. 8 as a “gay” issue. By rolling back the fundamental rights of one group, Prop. 8 casts a threat that now looms over the civil rights of all.