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In support of momentous acts of self-determination
by: Jay Stevens
Fri Aug 06, 2010 at 21:20:04 PM MDT
You probably already know, but Reagan-appointee federal judge Vaughn Walker ruled that California Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriages, unconstitutional. Slate's Dahlia Lithwick has an excellent analysis of Walker's opinion:
Among his most notable determinations of fact, Walker finds: states have long discriminated in matters of who can marry; marital status affects immigration, citizenship, tax policy, property and inheritance rules, and benefits programs; that individuals do not choose their own sexual orientation; California law encourages gay couples to become parents; domestic partnership is a second-class legal status; permitting same-sex couples to marry does not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, or otherwise screw around. He found that it benefits the children of gay parents to have them be married and that the gender of a child's parent is not a factor in a child's adjustment. He found that Prop 8 puts the force of law behind a social stigma and that the entirety of the Prop 8 campaign relied on instilling fears that children exposed to the concept of same-sex marriage may become gay....He found that stereotypes targeting gays and lesbians have resulted in terrible disadvantages for them and that the Prop 8 campaign traded on those stereotypes.
And then Walker turned to his conclusions of law, finding that under both the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses:
Code:Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.
Simply put, because the state is involved in marriage and confers advantages on married couples, it cannot discriminate against same-sex couples because there's no compelling interest for the state to do so. And if the SCOTUS upholds Walker's ruling, Montana's constitutional same-sex ban will be deemed unconstitutional.
In reading up on Judge Walker- who is labeled an "independent conservative"- and some of his rulings/beliefs it appears Reagan appointed a Libertarian to the Federal Bench.....