GayPatriot

The Internet home for American gay conservatives.

My USA Today Column on DOMA & Prop 8

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I’m sure this is what resulted in the aforementioned hate mail this morning.  Here’s a sneak peek.

As a gay conservative, I’ve always been conflicted about the issue of gay marriage. I guess it is because my political and moral philosophies are not dictated by the desire to be loved by the president or the federal government. I believe that my rights as an American citizen come from my Creator, not Barack Obama, John Roberts or Nancy Pelosi. But the reaction from most gay liberals today to theoverturning of the Defense of Marriage Act and reversing the California voters’ decision in Proposition 8 has been the opposite. The gay political class is celebrating Big Government waving its haughty approval like King George III waving his hand over his colonies.

So for those of my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters who needed the federal government’s emotional approval of their relationship: Congratulations. I just hope all gay and lesbian Americans take a moment to stop and thank Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush for nominating Justices Kennedy and Roberts so the Clinton era of discrimination could come to an end Wednesday.

Read the whole thing!

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

Bill Clinton’s Defense of Marriage Act Finally Overturned By Roberts Court

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I was asked to do a play-by-play on the morning’s SCOTUS rulings at Ricochet.com.  So I present you a somewhat truncated version of that post.  Mostly because I’m lazy and do this for free.

As I expected, the Supreme Court has just issued its opinion that the Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law by Bill Clinton, is unconstitutional.

The vote was 5-4 with Justice Kennedy joining the liberal justices and Roberts, Alito, Scalia and Thomas dissenting.

From SCOTUSblog:

DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.

“DOMA singles out a class of persons deemed by a State entitled ot recognition and protection to enhance their own liberty.”

The opinion and its holding are confined to those lawful marriages.

More on DOMA from SCOTUSblog:

The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity. By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others.
An aside: This is vintage Kennedy.

I was wrong on the Prop 8 decision, though.  I thought the Court would uphold the California voters’ decision.  But ultimately, they ruled on standing not merit of the case.

From Chris Geidner at BuzzFeed (who is also a lawyer) has this to say about Prop 8 decision:

Today’s decision means the trial-court decision striking down #Prop8 stands. Questions remain whether that can & will be enforced statewide.

Here’s an attempt at interpretation on Prop 8 ruling from SCOTUSblog:

Here’s a Plain English take on Hollingsworth v. Perry, the challenge to the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage: After the two same-sex couples filed their challenge to Proposition 8 in federal court in California, the California government officials who would normally have defended the law in court, declined to do so. So the proponents of Proposition 8 stepped in to defend the law, and the California Supreme Court (in response to a request by the lower court) ruled that they could do so under state law. But today the Supreme Court held that the proponents do not have the legal right to defend the law in court. As a result, it held, the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the intermediate appellate court, has no legal force, and it sent the case back to that court with instructions for it to dismiss the case.

So there you go.  As we’ve said all along here at GayPatriot, this should be a state issue.  Now jubilant low-information gays prancing around Chelsea and The Castro agree with us, even though they don’t know why!

YAY, America!

Reminder: We have the worst economic conditions since 1939.  Priorities.

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)