The outcome looks bad from a policy perspective, although legally it must said that the argument for striking down Prop 8 in the abscence of a federally enforceable right are pretty weak. At least it appears as if the marriages that took place under the more just staus quo ante won’t be nullified.
Tag: gay and lesbian rights
Michelle Goldberg on signals that Obama will rescind “don’t ask, don’t tell”: Granted, he didn’t say when it was going to happen, but it’s definitely an encouraging sign, a
Benen: As part of the transition team’s “Open for Questions” project, press secretary Robert Gibbs responded to questions posed online and voted on by visitors to change.gov. The fin
Some excellent work from Dan Savage here: The point about churches engaging in political funding and activism and then hiding behind the bushes is a particularly important one. It’s also good that Savage has apologized for his post-election scapegoating of African-Americans. By the way, does the backlash against Prop 8 prove that initiatives are a […]
Jeffrey Rosen tries to spin the narrow passage of Prop 8 into a triumph for his prediction that In Re: Marriage would instigate a massive backlash, and he’s no more persuasive than McArdle. The
Kevin Drum suggests that “Obama has a notable streak of temperamental caution that serves him well, but it could also betray him. Maybe he could have turned the tide against Proposition 8 in Cal
In response to Matt’s point here, if I understand correctly most gay and lesbian rights groups (especially in recent years) haven’t opposed all litigation (Goodridge was the result of a carefully coordinated combination of seven lawsuits with support from LAMDA, for example.) Rather, they have opposed federal litigation, which given the non-existent chance of victory […]
My prediction that someone would argue that Prop 8 “lends credence to the claims that litigation tends to produce a disproportionate backlash” has been proven correct by Megan McArdle. A f
And, abjuring the wrong side of history, comes out against Prop 8.
Hysterical predictions aside, Kevin Drum notes that the initiative to overturn the pro-gay-marriage ruling of the California Courts is trailing by nine points. I don’t want to be complacent — things can change — but it is very likely that Prop 8 will fail, and California’s same-sex marriages will be entrenched. Alas, I fear that […]
I agree with Sanchez and Patashnik that there’s no necessary contradiction between Obama’s nominal opposition to same-sex marriage and opposition to the California Restoration of Bigotry i
Obama opposes a rollback of same-sex marriage rights in California; McCain supports it.