Sunday, June 30, 2013

One small step

When I finally got a chance to sit down and ready the DOMA and Prop 8 decisions, I was actually pretty underwhelmed. Justice Kennedy's Opinion in Lawrence was far more compelling than in Windsor. And reading Windsor with Perry, the Supreme Court has instructed Governors, Presidents, and AGs to enforce laws they believe to be unconstitutional so that they can maintain standing to enable the Supreme Court to reach the merits of the case.  

DOMA is not dead yet either. Article 3, which is equally unconstitutional, still enables one state to refuse to recognize a same sex marriage performed in another state, never-mind the privileges and immunities clause or the equal protection clause. 

We will have to wait a few more years for another model plaintiff with bottomless pockets to be found and then a few more years to wind their way through the trial and appeals courts before a state like Utah will have gay marriage. Although I still hope that I am proven wrong.  

There was a multiple day trial on Prop 8, and every single possible reason against gay marriage had its day in court and lost miserably. The evidence was overwhelming in favor of equality. Now perhaps the Prop 8 proponents did not have the best attorneys, unlike the plaintiffs, but what their real problem was they had the worst facts. 

Ask yourself if you are entitled to deny someone you know and respect love and happiness because what they do in the bedroom makes you feel icky. And then you realize the problem is not gay marriage, it is you. 

If you can make that realization, then we are one step closer to true equality. Then maybe it is not such a small step after all.