Yesterday and today have been devastating days for Christofascists and their sleazy political whores in the Republican Party. Between the U.S. Supreme Court action yesterday which tacitly affirmed the rulings of the 4th, 7th and 10th Circuits and today's ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals striking down same sex marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada, when all the dust settles the number of states where same sex marriage is legal will surge from 19 states to 35 states (including Alaska and Montana). Should the 6th Circuit rule the same way, then the gay marriage states will number 38 - far more than those that had legalized interracial marriage prior to the ruling in Loving v. Virginia. The 9th Circuit ruling can be read here. There obviously must be much wailing and gnashing of teeth in hate group headquarters (not that these folks will surrender and seek real jobs). Metro Weekly looks at today's 9th Circuit ruling. Here are highlights:
A federal appeals court struck down same-sex marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada Tuesday in what is the latest of a series of victories for marriage equality just this week.
In a 3-0 opinion authored by Judge Stephen Reinhardt, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found bans on same-sex marriage in Idaho and Nevada violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“To allow same-sex couples to adopt children and then to label their families as second-class because the adoptive parents are of the same sex is cruel as well as unconstitutional,” the ruling states. “Classifying some families, and especially their children, as of lesser value should be repugnant to all those in this nation who profess to believe in ‘family values.’ In any event, Idaho and Nevada’s asserted preference for opposite-sex parents does not, under heightened scrutiny, come close to justifying unequal treatment on the basis of sexual orientation.”
Monday’s decision by the Supreme Court also impacts states under the jurisdiction of the 4th Circuit, 7th Circuit and 10th Circuit Courts of Appeals, meaning same-sex marriage will likely soon be legalized in West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming. On Tuesday, Colorado’s attorney general ordered county clerks in the state to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. When the other states impact by the Supreme Court’s decision comply, 30 states, plus D.C., will allow same-sex couples to marry.
Should Tuesday’s ruling by the 9th Circuit be petitioned to be heard by the Supreme Court, it seems unlikely the justices would hear the case following Monday’s decision to reject cases striking down same-sex marriage bans in five states. As such, the 9th Circuit’s decision will likely impact other states in the circuit that ban same-sex marriage, including Arizona, Alaska and Montana, but not immediately.
“Today’s decision from the Ninth Circuit brings to 35 the number of freedom to marry states, and 64% of the American people now live in a state where gay people will soon share in the freedom to marry,” Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, said in a statement.
When I came out 13 years ago, I never thought I would live to see this day. In fact, when I came out, even consensual same sex sexual relations could land one with a felony conviction here in Virginia. Thankfully, Lawrence v. Texas ended that constant worry and now my husband and I are fully legally married in Virginia. Not to sound cruel, but I have zero sympathy for the Christofascists who have inflicted so much harm on so many for so long. Hopefully, they will soon become a scorned and largely irrelevant minority.
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