Thursday, January 24, 2013

DOMA Supporters' Brief Claims Gays Too Powerful to Need Court Protection

Paul Clement (pictured above) -- the a former United States solicitor general and current partner with the Washington law firm Bancroft P.L.L.C, who is ripping off American taxpayers to the tune of $3 million so far - is apparently drinking Christofascist Kool-Aid.  How else to explain his argument in the brief filed on behalf of the GOP Congressional Conference in support of DOMA that says gays have become so powerful that  "There is absolutely no reason to think that gays and lesbians are shut out of the political process to a degree that would justify judicial intervention on an issue as divisive and fastmoving as same-sex marriage."  Clement needs to come across the Potomac to Virginia where we "powerful" gays have ZERO employment non-discrimination protections, have no non-discrimination protections in housing, and receive ZERO recognition of our committed life relationships.  In Virginia, we have about as much power politically as the slaves did in the Confederacy.  A piece in Huffington Post looks at this utter batshitery that all taxpayers are being forced to subsidize.  Here are excerpts:

A conservative attorney working on behalf of the GOP bolstered his argument to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) with the rationale that gay Americans have become so powerful they do not need special judicial protection as a minority. 

House Republicans have enlisted the services of Paul Clement -- a former United States solicitor general and current partner with the Washington law firm Bancroft P.L.L.C -- to fight their $3 million DOMA battle after President Barack Obama decided his administration will no longer defend the anti-gay legislation. 

On Tuesday, Clement's 60-page brief in United States v. Windsor was filed with the Supreme Court, revealing his arguments for the court to uphold DOMA, according to Think Progress.  Via United States v. Windsor:
In short, gays and lesbians are one of the most influential, best-connected, best-funded, and best-organized interest groups in modern politics, and have attained more legislative victories, political power, and popular favor in less time than virtually any other group in American history ... There is absolutely no reason to think that gays and lesbians are shut out of the political process to a degree that would justify judicial intervention on an issue as divisive and fastmoving as same-sex marriage.
United States v. Windsor is the Supreme Court version of Windsor v. United States, in which a New York federal court found that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional and violates the Fifth Amendment. Section 3 defines marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife" and spouse as "a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife," thus providing unequal protection under the law. 

Think Progress blogger Ian Millhiser disputes Clement's argument, writing:
Political victories do not cancel out Americans’ constitutional rights, they augment them, and Clement is simply wrong to suggest otherwise. Ultimately, the sheer absurdity of Clement’s argument exposes why his claims must not prevail at the Supreme Court. The Constitution of Seneca Falls and Selma is also the Constitution of Stonewall. Clement’s argument would deny all three.
Clement is a liar and arguable mentally ill if he seriously believes his own argument.

 

No comments: