Gay Marriage

The Iowa Faith And Freedom Coalition And The Republican Party Presidential Nomination

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The first event of the battle for the Republican Presidential nomination of 2012 occurred on Monday night in Des Moines, Iowa, when the Faith and Freedom Coalition gathering, hosted by Ralph Reed, a former aide to evangelist Pat Robertson, took place.

Only three of the major possible candidates showed up–Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, and Rick Santorum.

Also appearing were former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, past Godfather Pizza executive Herman Cain, and in a separate event, Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Also, a representative of Donald Trump appeared.

The fact that only three major GOP candidates appeared was a surprise, as it is obvious no one is very anxious to jump full scale into the race.

And the three major candidates who did show up all sounded like evangelical preachers at a religious revival, and the question is whether the GOP is going to focus on abortion and gay marriage at the expense of mainstream economic issues!

And for Gingrich particularly, but also Pawlenty and Santorum, to focus on morals and ethics is quite amazing, and the level of hypocrisy, particularly for Gingrich with his three wives and scandalous behavior as Speaker of the House from 1995-1999, is absolutely amazing!

The Conflict On Gay Rights Among Conservatives: Creating Splits That Will Damage The Right Wing!

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This coming week will see the gathering of the largest conservative advocacy group–CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference–in Washington, DC.

A long list of co-sponsors of the conference include the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the National Rifle Association, and Americans For Tax Reform, along with over a hundred more organizations and movements.

But several major conservative organizations tied to the Religious Right are boycotting the gathering over the issue of same sex marriage, including the Liberty Counsel and the Family Research Council.

The villain in their minds is the grouo GOProud, a movement of gay conservatives, the second major gay Republican group, along with the Log Cabin Republicans.

GOProud beieves in limited government, individual liberty, free market economic principles, and a strong national defense, all strongly conservative beliefs, but the gay aspect of their group simply is unacceptable to social conservatives.

There will be about ten thousand participants in the CPAC gathering, and several potential GOP presidential candidates will be speaking, but the fact that a gay organization is a co-sponsor of the gathering is causing a split which can affect the whole conservative movement and the Republican Party in 2012 and beyond.

If the split lasts, that can only help the Democrats and Barack Obama, and only add to the GOP being the party which rejects gays, as well as Hispanics, not a winning vision for the long term future!

Children Of Republican Leaders And Gay Rights! Setting The Trend Of the Future!

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The surprising news to many, and the shocking news to others, is that one of the twin daughters of President George W. Bush, Barbara Bush, has come out for gay marriage rights and has allowed herself to be part of a taped endorsement campaign for such rights in New York!

This development comes on the heels of Megan McCain, daughter of 2008 Presidential candidate and Senator John McCain of Arizona, also endorsing gay rights and marriage.

Additionally, the lesbian daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, Mary Cheney, has also been a major figure in promoting the concept of gay marriage.

So a former President, a former Vice President, and a Presidential nominee have children who have come out for gay rights in the midst of right wing conservative Christian groups bitterly opposing any such concept, and boycotting the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference because a gay group has been invited to participate!

Realize also that former First Ladies Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush came out for abortion rights after their husbands left the Presidency, and that Laura Bush has already supported her daughter Barbara, before the fact, in an interview recently that included discussion of gay marriage and gay rights.

The fact that the family members of these top Republican leaders come out for the civil rights of women and gays makes one wonder if their husbands and fathers simply mouthed what they had to say to keep political backing when they were running for the Presidency, and the belief is that assumption is totally correct!

Every poll shows younger Americans have no problem with gay rights and gay marriage, and therefore, the Republican right wing is fighting a rear guard action that will, in the long run, isolate them, just as their vehement opposition to illegal immigrants gaining eventual rights of citizenship has alienated most Latinos and Hispanics from the party.

If the GOP allows the extreme right wing and Christian Right to control their destiny, they will see themselves disintegrate as a respectable and competitive political party for the long run of the American future!

Stop vilifying Latinos and Hispanics, and stop demonizing gays, or else you will be part of the dust bin of history! And keep religion out of government, where it belongs, as all that occurs when religion is allowed to control government decisions is the promotion of hate and intolerance, which ironically, Jesus Christ would not have approved were he here to observe what so called “devout” Christians claim are his teachings, a total distortion of his message of peace, love, and tolerance of others!

Another Progressive And Liberal Victory: The Struggle For Civil Rights For Gays In The Military Finally Accomplished! :)

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Another major victory for civil rights was celebrated this morning at the Interior Department before an overflow crowd, as President Barack Obama signed into law the ending of the policy in the military of “don’t ask, don’t tell”.

It was an emotional moment for many, and shows what the constant battle has been throughout American history: to overcome discrimination, prejudice, favoritism, elitism, based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and now sexual orientation.

There is absolutely no justification to deny any American the same rights and liberties that every other American has, but in the past, only white men of property had any rights.

If we were to go by the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the concept of “originalism”, we would still have denial of equality for African Americans, other ethnic minorities based on religion and nationality, gender, disability and sexual orientation.

Instead, we have had the expansion of equality over many generations of struggle, whether those who were privileged at the time liked it or not.

There is no negotiation on basic human rights in this nation, and we must all remember that when one looks at history, whether in the 19th, 20th, or 21st century, who was it, broadly based, who fought “tooth and nail” against civil rights and civil liberties for all Americans?–the conservatives of each time frame, not always identified by political party, but by an attitude of privilege and entitlement! 🙁

And who was it that fought for human rights in each time frame, not always identified by political party, but committed to justice and equality?–progressives and liberals who were committed to principles that come from the Constitutional Convention, but developed beyond the “originalism” view so vehemently espoused by conservatives!

And sooner than we think is possible, gay marriage will be accepted, as interracial marriage was adjusted to in the 1960s, and it will not be a question whether everyone approves it, as basic human rights, including marriage, are not to be seen as negotiable due to one’s personal or religious beliefs. After all, no one demands that a person like what is going on in society, but simply that he or she accept the fact that it is none of their business to interfere in a basic human right!

Personal freedom is an inviolable right that is not subject to the whim of public opinion polls!

Arnold Schwarzenegger And Jerry Brown Call For Gay Marriages To Resume In California NOW!

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Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic candidate for Governor Jerry Brown (also a former Governor and present Attorney General) of California have called upon the federal district judge who declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional to allow the restart of gay marriage in the state!

The argument is that if the judge believes gay men and women are being denied equality under the law as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, then there should be no delay in resuming gay marriage, leaving it up to the higher federal courts to later ban it, if that were to happen!

The call by Schwarzenegger and Brown will likely push faster action by the circuit courts, and will probably lead to the Proposition 8 matter reaching the Supreme Court level much sooner, possibly in the new term of the Court due to begin in October and go through June of 2011!

It is hard to imagine that the Supreme Court will be able to evade this controversial subject, or refuse to consider it, so it seems very probable that the year 2011 will be a path breaking year on gay rights, not only in regard to gay marriage, but also the soon to be ended “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy affecting the military!

An Amazing Alliance: David Boies And Ted Olson!

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The California District Court case today, declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional, was won because of the strong arguments of an amazing alliance of two leading attorneys–David Boies and Ted Olson!

David Boies is a liberal Democrat and Ted Olson is a conservative Republican, who opposed each other in the Supreme Court case of Bush V. Gore, which led to the Court declaring the vote count in Florida over, and awarding the state’s electoral votes to George W. Bush over Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential Election!

But the two men now have joined together in an impressive alliance, based on the idea that gays have the same rights as other citizens, and that prejudice and discrimination cannot be allowed to deny basic civil liberties and human rights, including the right to marry!

Olson was Solicitor General under President George W. Bush, and therefore has argued cases before the Court other than the Bush V. Gore case! Boies also has a very impressive record in court on numerous cases, so this is an alliance of power!

Hopefully, the two men will go down as the equivalent of Thurgood Marshall was in the Brown V. Board of Education case in 1954!

The battle must still be fought through the higher courts, but with such stalwart figures behind the gay marriage case, hopefully the moral and right thing will win out, and justice will be served! 🙂

A Major Victory For Civil Liberties And Human Rights: Proposition 8 In California Declared Unconstitutional!

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The decision of a Federal District Court judge in California today, declaring that Proposition 8 (denying gay men and women the right to marry) was unconstitutional, is a major victory for civil liberties and human rights! 🙂

This is not a question of religious belief! No one is forced to become a part of gay marriage! If you do not like two gays being married, you can have your view, but you don’t have the right to tell others who to marry!

Only 43 years ago, people of different races could not marry, until the Supreme Court declared it constitutional in 1967! Not everyone likes interracial marriage, but who cares? It is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS who marries whom, as long as they are consenting adults!

Prejudice and hate and narrow mindedness must not be allowed to deny a group of Americans, estimated at 3 to 10 percent, the rights that the rest of us have! This is not something that should be based on a vote of the people, as the people can be wrong, as they have often been, and are not entitled to deny other people their basic human rights!

Of course, this is only the beginning, as the decision will be appealed to the Federal Circuit Courts, and ultimately is likely to go to the Supreme Court!

No one knows how the Supreme Court would rule, but the odds seem good that Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was the decisive vote in the gay rights case of Lawrence V. Texas might side with four other Justices thought likely to back gay marriage–Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and Stephen Breyer!

Additionally, there are hints that Justice Antonin Scalia, despite his anger at the Lawrence V. Texas decision, has stated that there is no compelling state interest in interfering with the right of marriage, so who knows? He just might be on the side of the right of gays to marry, when the case comes to the Supreme Court!

So we just might be seeing a 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court, making this the last basic human rights issue to be decided by the Supreme Court!

Conservatives who oppose this basic human right, and religious zealots who preach hate and prejudice, are going to be seen in the future as part of the dustbin of history, as once again, being on the wrong side of the concept of human rights!

The California Gay Marriage Case: A Civil Rights Cause!

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An important case is about to be decided in California, regarding the issue of gay marriage.

For two brief periods, gay marriage was allowed in California, until Proposition 8 negated the idea in the 2008 election. About 18,000 couples were married before the passage of Proposition 8.

The plaintiffs are a lesbian couple with four children who are represented by a unique duo: the opposing lawyers in the Gore V. Bush case in the Supreme Court in 2000, which decided the Presidential election that year.

Ted Olsen, who represented George W. Bush, and David Boies, who represented Al Gore, have teamed together to fight Proposition 8, as discriminatory against two lesbians or gays having the right to the institution of marriage.

To many Republicans and conservatives, the fact that Ted Olsen, who was Solicitor General under President Bush, would agree to take on the case jointly with David Boies was a surprise, but Olsen argues that giving the right to marry to two people of the same gender does no harm to anyone, but provides due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment!

No matter what the result in the California courts, it will have to be sent on to the federal appellate courts, and ultimately, to the US Supreme Court.

But Olsen’s comparison of the issue of sexual orientation in marriage to earlier 20th century civil rights struggles was an inspiring closing argument in the case!

Laura Bush And Abortion And Gay Marriage

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Former First Lady Laura Bush has written a memoir of her life and years in the White House, and was interviewed this evening on Larry King Live on CNN.

It was a very revealing and fascinating hour, and it was somewhat surprising that Laura Bush revealed that she was in favor of gay marriage being explored, and believed that abortion rights should not be reversed by the Supreme Court!

This is a stand revealed publicly now, after her husband took the exact opposite stand as President.

But it is interesting that Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan also revealed publicly after their husbands left the Presidency that they both were pro choice on abortion.

So it seems clear that the women have a more open minded attitude on change and reform than their husbands, who apparently feel the need to toe the Republican “party line” and promote an anti abortion and anti gay rights and marriage agenda!

Mike Huckabee, Gay Marriage And Gay Rights

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Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Fox News Channel talk show host, and former candidate for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination, has stirred up a storm with his recent comments on gay marriage and gay rights.

Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, compared gay marriage to incest, drug addiction, and polygamy! Just because some people believe in these things, he says, does not mean society has to accept it!

Gay rights and marriage is becoming more accepted, particularly among younger people, and for a possible presidential candidate to be so blunt in his attack on this issue is bound to cause a lot of turmoil. It is not appropriate to compare gay marriage to the other issues that Huckabee mentions!

This issue is seen by its supporters as an issue of civil rights, and Huckabee now sounds like a bigot, as he also opposes gay adoptions, and has also come out in the past against civil unions. He says the gay lifestyle is outside the “ideal”. He also has said in the past that a man and his pet or multiple partners should not be considered allowable, comparing it to gay relationships. He also has been against gays serving openly in the military, and being foster parents.

Somehow, most of the European democracies, Canada, Australia, and Israel have managed to adjust to gays being part of society, and certainly have gone further on gay rights. It is tragic that this issue has to divide this nation, as while any individual certainly can hold whatever beliefs he wants to, discrimination should not be allowed just because some people have trouble accepting change!