Gay Marriage: Inciting a backlash, or dragging along too slowly?

[City Girl]

[City Girl]

[City Girl]

[City Girl]

[City Girl]

And my personal favorite.

[michaelflanagansf]

So did you give him your number?

[I know, I know - I sound like a Jewish mother.  It's the New York pictures.  It brings it out in me.]

[Lyle (Mooska)]

The sun-drenched rally, including homosexual and heterosexual supporters, stretched down several downtown streets. Police reported that marchers arrived in groups as large as nearly 1,000 persons on Metrolink trains, Red Line subways and buses.

Their message was largely drowned out by media coverage of the massive wildfires rampaging through the Southland.

Taking time out from monitoring the wildfires, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa delivered his support for gay marriage in a bilingual speech.

There is a video link on this (rather cumbersome) link of the Mayor's speech if you are interested:
http://www.laindependent.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=4302&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1014&hn=laindependent&he=.com

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Yay Hawaii!

Hundreds of Oahu residents turned out to protest the California vote that
banned gay marriage there.  Yesterday’s peaceful protest started at Honolulu Hale
and ended with a march to the state Capitol building. 

The nationwide protests followed the vote on Proposition 8 in California in this
year’s election, which banned same-sex marriages in the state. Hawaii has
neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions and protesters also called for the
establishment of same sex unions in Hawaii. 

Video from Hawaii:
http://www.kitv.com/video/17990783/index.html

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/hawaiinews/28801116_Islanders_protest_gay-marriage_ban.html

***
A video from AP--I don't know what these videos portray,
my computer is not video friendly right now...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nEm2idDr8w

[Lyle (Mooska)]

This is from an article that I lost the link to.
*** = edit by me

When six of seven members of the California Supreme Court gathered
in Berkeley on Friday for a conference on the role of the court, their every
facial tic and remark was scrutinized for signs of whether they would vote
to overturn Proposition 8.
***
The court is pondering legal challenges to Proposition 8, which restored the
ban on same-sex marriage. While the justices listened to what others had to
say about their role in same-sex marriage, another lawsuit was filed before
them to overturn the initiative.  That legal challenge -- ***-- brings to four the
number of lawsuits asking the court to overturn Proposition 8.

The court may act on the challenges as early as next week.

Although the conference on the role of the state high court was planned months
ago, its topics squarely addressed the heated legal and political questions now
swirling around the justices and the fate of same-sex marriage.

Former Gov. Pete Wilson, one of the speakers, said the court should defer to the
other branches of government and refrain from making policy on its own.

[MY COMMENT:  Is HE still around?  Asshole.]

An appellate lawyer on a panel observed the court's obligation "to protect the
minority from the tyranny of the majority."

And justices from other states warned that voters are increasingly throwing state
Supreme Court justices off the bench after heated campaigns by special interest
groups.
***
The marriage ruling not only was "the biggest blockbuster of this court's term
but perhaps the most important decision handed down in the United States by
any court," Starr said.  Starr had opposed same-sex marriage before the court, but
he read aloud from the majority opinion in a stirring voice as the justices listened.
The 4-3 ruling spoke of the "overarching values of equality and human freedom,"
the need to protect minorities, the "fundamental right" of marriage, and the importance
of giving same-sex unions "equal dignity and respect," he said.

He also read from the dissents, which called marriage an ancient institution and said
the court should defer to the will of the people.  With the justices only a few feet away,
Santa Clara University Law School Professor Gerald Uelmen opined that the court could
not overturn Proposition 8 without also admitting that its May 15 decision improperly
revised the state Constitution. The lawsuits against Proposition 8 contend that the initiative
changed the tenets of the state Constitution and therefore amounted to a revision, which can
only be placed on the ballot by a 2/3 vote of the Legislature. Proposition 8 stemmed from a
signature campaign.

Werdegar, the panel's moderator, frowned and ignored the comment.

Earlier she had said that the state high court must provide independent review when state constitutional issues were at stake, even if it meant overturning a vote of the people. Her remarks dealt with a tax case and had nothing to do with Proposition 8, but reporters scribbled furiously.
Television and radio media cornered Chief Justice Ronald M. George, who wrote the marriage ruling, and repeatedly tried to get him to discuss Proposition 8. He explained over and over again that judges were not permitted to comment on pending cases.

As for this comment:

With the justices only a few feet away,
Santa Clara University Law School Professor Gerald Uelmen opined that the court could
not overturn Proposition 8 without also admitting that its May 15 decision improperly
revised the state Constitution.

I don’t see how someone can think that the decision of May 15th REVISED the constitution.
All it did was say that WE are a part of it and cannot be treated differently.  How is that
a revision.

?

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Schwarzenegger won't join Prop. 8 fight
By Kevin Yamamura 
Published: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Sunday he will not join
legislative Democrats in a court fight against Proposition 8 despite
his opposition to the same-sex marriage ban, but he believes the
courts ultimately should and will allow such marriages in California.
The Republican governor reiterated on ABC's This Week with George
Stephanopoulos that, "for me, marriage is between a man and a woman.
But I don't want to ever force my will on anyone." "I think that the
Supreme Court was right by saying (a gay marriage ban) was
 unconstitutional and that everyone should have the right,"
0Schwarzenegger said. "So the Supreme Court, you know, I think ought
to go and look at that again. And we'll go back to the same decision...
I think that they will. And I think that the important thing now is to
resolve this issue in that way."  Schwarzenegger compared the legal
battle over same-sex marriage to a 1948 challenge in which the
California Supreme Court declared a ban on interracial marriage
unconstitutional. While voters approved a constitutional ban on gay
marriage through the ballot process this month, Schwarzenegger
suggested precedent exists for ruling some initiatives unconstitutional.
 
Initiative proponents have accused challengers of trying to subvert the will of the voters.

I think the Governor is being a wishy-washy girly man.

More here:
http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/1402465.html

[AHappyMan]

I think the Governor is being a wishy-washy girly man.

More here:
http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/1402465.html

Good lord what a string of garbled crap. Sarah Palin could have written that paragraph.

"I'm for/against it sort of kind of. I hope you'll join me in not being for/against it. In a way."

[BayCityJohn]

As for this comment:

With the justices only a few feet away,
Santa Clara University Law School Professor Gerald Uelmen opined that the court could
not overturn Proposition 8 without also admitting that its May 15 decision improperly
revised the state Constitution.

I don’t see how someone can think that the decision of May 15th REVISED the constitution.
All it did was say that WE are a part of it and cannot be treated differently.  How is that
a revision.

?

He probably never bothered to read the May 15 decision, but that's true for about 52% of the people in California.

[jack]

Yay Hawaii!

The nationwide protests followed the vote on Proposition 8 in California in this
year’s election, which banned same-sex marriages in the state. Hawaii has
neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions and protesters also called for the
establishment of same sex unions in Hawaii. 

perhaps some people will play connect the dots and remember or realize that the mormons first pulled that same stunt here in hawaii 15 yrs or so ago.  they got off cheap that time, only cost them a couple millions to buy hawaii's legislature enough to let it go to popular vote with a similar scare tactic.

[killersmom]

It was a wonderful experience for me! I was so proud ti be able to be a part of this.
My great hope is that we can now go forward and get this thing defeated.

Another few pictures from San Francisco.

The view from my camera



michaelflanagansf/Michael  (and one of his signs), richchan/Rich, and CityGirl/Grace

Melisande, BayCityJohn/John and xqsmwa were there as well.

[killersmom]

People arriving