Scott Sherman Online

CA Says My Family Deserves "Equal Dignity and Respect." Them's Fighting Words to Some!

Is this how people felt when horse drawn carriages were being replaced by motorcars? I feel so lucky to be living in this time when so much progress is happening right before my eyes. 

With fairness in their hearts and the law on their side, the majority Republican California Supreme Court ruled that is was against their Constitution to deny same sex couples the same rights and privileges granted their straight brothers and sisters.

"An individual's sexual orientation -- like a person's race or gender -- does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights," Chief Justice George wrote.  "Reserving the historic designation of 'marriage' exclusively for opposite-sex couples poses at least a serious risk of denying the family relationship of same-sex couples . . . equal dignity and respect..."

Unfortunately, my family doesn't live in CA, we're in Maryland, where the justices of our Supreme Court, just this last September, heartbreakingly upheld a 1973 ban on equal marriage rights, even though it was clear they knew it was wrong. Absent clear evidence of discrimination, the court declared (because, God knows, LGBT people aren't discriminated against in housing, jobs, family court, hospital visitation rights, inheritance laws, tax status, insurance matters or anything like that...) "judicial intervention is generally unwarranted no matter how unwisely we may think a political branch has acted."

In other words, if the people in the majority decides to merrily oppress the minority - have at it! Why would the courts - of all institutions - show an interest in Constitutional principles? Why, the whole thing is just silly.

Luckily, the California Supreme Court still thinks it has a responsibility to enforce equal protection under the law. You go, CASC!

Meanwhile, I can't wait to see that the nutters in CA - not to mention the rest of this great, free Nation, have to say about the prospect of people of whom they don't approve enjoying the same basic marriage rights that only they're entitled to abuse through adultery, divorce and domestic violence.

Already, the charmingly named Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council explains

Can A Good and Decent Person Be Anti-Gay?

What makes a person good and decent? Its a question I  asked myself when I read the following story in my news feed. (The story is after the break). It's a question that prompted me to sit down at the computer and write the following rant, which poured out over 45 minutes on a rainy Saturday morning when I should be playing with my kids.  This is probably my longest post ever, but I had to get it off my chest. I feel better now.

People fighting for equal marriage rights have long argued that so called "defense of marriage" acts will have unintended consequences. By passing laws that, by their very definition, label LGBT people as somehow "other," alien, lesser, as not deserving the same rights and responsibilities as other human beings, you were setting up millions of Americans for a future of legalized discrimination and persecution.

Now, to be fair, I know some good and decent people who struggle with the idea of two men or two women getting married. I get it. It's new, it's different, it's not something they ever considered. Change is scary. They feel threatened. Maybe it's not what they learned in church, or in school. I get it.

Now, to my mind, that's where a good and decent person starts. But a good and decent person is open to forming new opinions and beliefs. They'll realize that a strong and moral society evolves, that people become more free, not less, and that the prejudices of the majority must never be used as excuses to oppress a minority. They'll understand that equal marriage doesn't threaten anyone -  more loving couples and families strengthen our culture.  That, even if they'd make different choices for themselves or their family, even if there religion teaches otherwise, it's wrong for them to use the law to force their beliefs on their neighbors. A good and decent person can change.