March 2009

Source: San Jose Mercury News, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, National Law Journal, Christian Newswire

CA marriage case

“Power to the people” -- a refrain from Ken Starr’s arguments supporting Prop. 8 --was repeated by several justices in today’s hearing on a challenge to the November vote. This case is about the “power of the people” to amend the state’s constitution as they see fit, said Justice Joyce Kennard.

“And what I’m picking up from the oral argument in this case is this court should willy-nilly disregard the will of the people,” Kennard said to attorney Shannon Minter, the legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Kennard’s was a key vote in recognizing marriage equality last year.

In that, and other comments, Kennard clearly signaled her reluctance to overturn the November vote passing a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being only between a man and a woman.
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state_ca, proposition 8

 Lawyers and legal reporters who are familiar with the style and process of California's Supreme Court will give their analyses during the next hours and days of the fascinating discussions about Prop. 8 that just concluded only a few minutes late.

I'm not a lawyer, and this is the first time I've watched the court in action, so I'll wait to summarize the reactions of those experts later today, but to my ear, this hearing made it sound like Prop. 8 is likely to be upheld because of the "fundamental right" of the people of California to change their constitution in just about any way they see fit.

I'd be surprised -- after listening to much of this hearing [I missed the first hour early this morning] -- if either Chief Justice Ronald George or Justice Joyce Kennard would agree this time around to overturn the vote. Both seemed more inclined to honor a "profound" right of the people to make such a change in the state -- a right that applies, as Prop. 8's chief defender Ken Starr said, even when the people make an "unwise" decision.
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state_ca, proposition 8

Source: Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press

CA marriage case

A large group of lawyers will gather Thursday before the California Supreme Court justices to answer questions  from the bench during a three-hour hearing about the arguments they've submitted to the court on the legality of Proposition 8.

A decision on the case isn't expected for another two or three months, but observers will watch tomorrow's hearing closely for hints - often difficult to decipher - about where the justices stand.

The court has 90 days after tomorrow's hearing to issue a ruling, but LA Times reporter Maura Dolan writes that the justices have probably already made up their minds about the issues that were raised in the legal briefs.

"By now, the court already has drafted a decision on the case, with an author and at least three other justices willing to sign it. Oral arguments sometimes result in changes to the draft, but rarely do they change the majority position," Dolan reports.
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state_ca, proposition 8

Source: San Jose Mercury News, MSNBC, New York Times, Human Events

US Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) reintroduced a bill Monday to repeal the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT) policy that has been used to kick thousands of gay and lesbian service members out of the armed forces.

"This is an important civil rights issue. We also need the strongest military possible, and we need to recruit the best and brightest Americans. Some happen to be gay," Tauscher said Monday during a forum at the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank, San Jose Mercury News reports.

As usual, Rachel Maddow explained it all yesterday with quick wit and insight. (See clip at end of this post.)

President Barack Obama said during the campaign that he supported a re-evaluation of the policy that was adopted by Congress 16 years ago after a bitter debate during the first months of the Clinton administration. But administration official - and Obama himself - have said the policy would be changed only after a lengthy review.

On this and other decisive social issues, the Obama administration has urged a slow and methodical approach.
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Last week, Los Angeles Daily News reporter Greg Hernandez unexpectedly joined the mounting ranks of the the laid off when he was handed a pink slip and told to clear out his desk.

Hernandez explained in the last post on his Daily News blog, Out in Hollywood:

I lost my job today.

Even as my co-workers were losing their jobs all around me, I remained blissful in writing columns and feature stories and, of course, this blog. Fingers banging on the keyboard, not an employment care in the world. .

I was officially informed Monday afternoon that it was to be my last day on payroll at the paper which has undergone deep cuts in recent months.

That was the day after Hernandez had given in-depth coverage of the Oscars on his News blog.
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