there’s no such thing as “gay marriage”. there’s just marriage. so says my new hero, (reagan appointee) judge vaughn walker in his ruling yesterday, overturning proposition 8 as unconstitutional:
“moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbian women.”
that is my favorite quote from a very well written decision.
here are a few more:
…the evidence shows that proposition 8 harms the state’s interest in equality, because it mandates that men and women be treated differently based only on antiquated and discredited notions of gender. (emphasis mine)
…moreover, the state cannot have an interest in disadvantaging an unpopular minority group simply because the group is unpopular (unpopular? not in my house!)
…never has the state inquired into procreative capacity or intent before issuing a marriage license; indeed, a marriage license is more than a license to have procreative sexual intercourse (my 2 ex-husbands wholeheartedly agree!)
i highly recommend reading dahlia lithwick’s article on slate.com – which held this little gem:
It’s hard to read Judge Walker’s opinion without sensing that what really won out today was science, methodology, and hard work. Had the proponents of Prop 8 made even a minimal effort to put on a case, to track down real experts, to do more than try to assert their way to legal victory, this would have been a closer case. But faced with one team that mounted a serious effort and another team that did little more than fire up their big, gay boogeyman screensaver for two straight weeks, it wasn’t much of a fight.
the fight isn’t over. brace yourself for vitriol and fear-mongering and screaming heads warning of the slippery slide from homosexuality to pedophilia (always the most ridiculous, ignorant and vile statement)… but for a moment, there is a sigh of relief that maybe things aren’t as backward and small minded as they’ve been feeling recently…and for that, i am grateful.
thank you, judge walker.
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living in a modern world. 