Voter ‘animus’ to be issue in Calif marriage case

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned an amendment to the Colorado Constitution that outlawed discrimination protections for gay people, same-sex couples could not enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships anywhere in the nation, much less get married.

But as they seek to persuade a federal judge to strike down California’s ban on gay marriages, lawyers for two unmarried gay couples are using that 13-year-old decision as their road map — one they expect will eventually lead the high court to take up the marriage issue.

In the Colorado case, Romer v. Evans, the Supreme Court majority held that voters’ dislike of gays and the laws that several cities had approved to shield them from bias motivated the state amendment. Such “animus,” it said, was incompatible with the section of the U.S. Constitution that requires the government to treat its citizens equally absent a compelling reason to do otherwise.

The attorneys behind the challenge to California’s Proposition 8 plan to argue during a pretrial hearing Thursday that by stripping gays of the right to wed, the voter-approved ban runs afoul of America’s founding framework in the same way — and for the same reason.

“Romer is a strikingly similar situation to what we have here. You had a ballot initiative, a majority vote of the people, taking away a right,” said Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a member of the legal team led by former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson and veteran trial lawyer David Boies. “And there was no justification or rationale other than disapproval by that majority of that group.”

U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker on Tuesday issued a tentative order to fast-track the case in his San Francisco court.

Among the questions he said he wants covered at trial are whether sexual orientation is unchangeable, if permitting same-sex marriage “destabilizes” traditional unions and whether Proposition 8′s ballot history demonstrates the measure had “discriminatory intent.”

California Attorney General Jerry Brown, a defendant in the case, has sided with gay rights advocates and declined to defend the ban, which overturned a California Supreme Court ruling that had legalized same-sex marriages. The state Supreme Court five weeks ago upheld the measure, saying it represented a valid exercise of voters’ authority to amend the California Constitution.

Proposition 8′s sponsors, a coalition of religious conservative groups called Protect Marriage, has been given permission to intervene in the federal case. In court papers, the group’s lawyers rejected the assertions that anti-gay attitudes fueled the November measure and that the 1996 Colorado case was applicable.

“Nothing in California law, either Proposition 8 or otherwise, indicates that Californians harbor animus towards gay and lesbian individuals,” they wrote.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision, attorneys for gay rights and Christian conservative groups have debated whether the Romer decision could be used to expand gay rights. The ruling marked the first time the Supreme Court determined that the Constitution’s equal rights guarantees extended to gays and lesbians.

“The basic point of Romer is that government cannot ever act out of hostility toward a group of people, and whether that is in the context of marriage or anti-discrimination law, the point carries over,” said Suzanne Goldberg, who worked on the case and now directs Columbia Law School’s Sexuality and Gender Law Program.

The ruling has been cited, though so far unsuccessfully, in past challenges to gay marriage bans in Nebraska and Florida. At the same time, gay rights groups mostly have shied away from pursuing federal marriage cases in favor of pursuing marriage rights in state courts.

Legal observers on both sides of the debate agree, however, that California’s Proposition 8 presents novel questions

that could make the issue ripe for federal action.

See Voter ‘animus’ to be issue in Calif marriage case
San Francisco Chronicle

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Drive to stop gay partnership law is dividing conservatives

Reporting from Seattle — A campaign to roll back gay rights that kicked off in Washington state over the weekend has split the Christian conservative community, with some wondering whether it is the right time for a fight and others arguing that time may be running out.On the heels of the recent California Supreme Court ruling that upheld Proposition 8′s prohibition against same-sex marriage, conservative groups here began collecting signatures for a ballot referendum to block a new Washington state law that substantially expands rights for domestic partners.
The law that Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire signed in May has been dubbed the “everything but marriage” bill. When it takes effect in July, it will expand previous domestic partnership laws to include issues like adoption, child support, pensions and other public-employee benefits.Washington’s secretary of state approved the referendum petitions Friday and signature collections began over the weekend. If referendum backers collect 120,577 signatures by July 25, the law would be suspended pending a vote in November.But some conservatives fear that public support for domestic partnership rights and a preoccupation with the economy could doom the effort — and make it harder to battle same-sex marriage down the road. See Drive to stop gay partnership law is dividing conservatives
Los Angeles Times

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Poll: Conservatives, churchgoers do about face on DADT

Solid majorities of self-identified conservatives and weekly churchgoers now favor allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military, a striking turnaround in just the last four years, according to a new Gallup poll. Overall, 69% of U.S. adults surveyed support a change in the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, an increase of six percentage points since late 2004.

According to Gallup:

The finding that majorities of weekly churchgoers (60%), conservatives (58%), and Republicans (58%) now favor what essentially equates to repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy implemented under President Clinton in 1993 is noteworthy for several reasons. First, the data show that these traditionally conservative groups are shifting on this issue, supporting it to a far greater extent than they support legalized gay marriage. Second, it suggests the political playing field may be softer on this issue, and President Barack Obama will be well-positioned to forge ahead with his campaign promise to end the military ban on openly gay service members with some support from more conservative segments of the population. To date, it is estimated that more than 12,500 servicemen and servicewomen have been discharged under the policy, including more than 200 since Obama took office.

See Poll: Conservatives, churchgoers do about face on DADT

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Conservatives press for gay marriage ban in NJ

(Trenton, New Jersey) A coalition of socially conservative groups is pressing the New Jersey legislature to ask voters in 2010 to amend the state constitution to bar same-sex marriage.

The call came as Maine became the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage and a similar bill in New Hampshire passed the …

Conservative groups call for school boycott on Day of Silence

(New York City) A coalition of conservative Christian groups is calling on parents to pull their children out of school on the National Day of Silence, scheduled to take place in hundreds of schools on Friday.

The coalition is made up of organizations that have a national history of opposing LGBT …

If we don’t act decisively, America’s next Proposition 8 could happen in Iowa.

In the six days since Iowa lesbian and gay couples won the freedom to marry, powerful right-wing groups have been mounting a campaign to REVERSE this historic decision.

They are pushing for a constitutional ban on marriage for lesbian and gay couples in Iowa – just like California’s Proposition 8.
While key Iowa leaders have been defending this decision, successfully staving off a marriage ban for now, it’s critical that they hear public support as the right-wing onslaught continues – fueled by this week’s marriage victory in Vermont. Send a message thanking Iowa’s leaders and urging them to resist right-wing pressure.

Tell Iowa’s legislative leaders to stay strong – and stop the next Prop. 8!

Iowa state leaders, led by Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal and House Speaker Pat Murphy, have been heroic in recent days. HRC played an instrumental role in electing and protecting fair-minded majorities in the Iowa legislature, and we are seeing the fruits of our labors: so far, these courageous lawmakers have been successful in stopping a marriage ban, which would need to be placed on the ballot by the state legislature.
But the right wing campaign isn’t stopping – and if it happened in California, it can happen in Iowa.

Yesterday, the opposition launched a national TV ad campaign using the same lies that helped pass Prop. 8 (be sure to watch it, along with the secret audition tapes we found). It’s a clear example of the lies they’ll continue to use in every state facing a decision on marriage equality.
They are reportedly out-emailing us two to one in Iowa. They’ve held rallies in front of the state capitol. And with every email, phone call, editorial, or ad, it becomes more politically difficult for lawmakers to stay strong. That’s why we need to act now.

Ultraconservative groups are using disgusting lies – saying that “infidelity, promiscuity and insecurity” are the hallmarks of same-sex relationships and suggesting gay parents are more likely to engage in abuse and incest.

We cannot allow this hateful deception to take center stage. We must thank these lawmakers loudly and proudly – and demonstrate that support for marriage equality runs deep.

Thank Iowa’s legislative leaders – and make sure they defend the right of loving couples to marry, now and in the future!

Then, please pass this along to every fair-minded person you know in Iowa and across the country.

The lies must not prevail. Thank you for helping us defend the truth – for Iowans and for all of America.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
President, HRC

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Gay Marriage Foes Call For Minnesota Amendment

(St. Paul, Minnesota) Republicans and social conservative groups are countering a proposal to make marriage gender neutral in Minnesota with a new effort to advance a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Republicans have failed three times in recent years to strengthen a state law barring gay and lesbian couples from marrying …

Conservative Groups Launch Preemptive Efforts To Retain Gay Bans

Anti-gay rights groups alarmed at the election of a gay-affirming president are staging preemptive attacks on the pro-gay positions of the upcoming Barack Obama administration.

One such group, the Alliance for Marriage Foundation (AMF), the organization that drafted the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) in Congress, is working against any attempt to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

The conservative group Concerned Women for America (CWA) objects to several progressive Obama ideologies at Obama Watch, but four out of six of their concerns are gay related.

Both groups list defending DOMA from repeal as a priority.

At the AMF sponsored website www.ProtectDOMA.org facts and information about the law that forbids any federal agency from recognizing legal marriage can be found. The law also allows states to ignore legal gay marriages performed in another state.

See Conservative Groups Launch Preemptive Efforts To Retain Gay Bans
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