California Attorney General Says Prop. 8 Unconstitutional

Amidst all the blogosphere controversy over bloated, obese homophobic Rick "Gays Can Change" Warren giving the inaugural invocation, a welcome diversion is California Attorney General Jerry Brown's filing of a brief arguing that the California Supreme Court should strike down Proposition 8, arguing that "the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification." Rather the more complex procedure involving the legislature need to have been used. Needless to say, the Christianist/Mormon crowd that believes that a simple majority can strip minority groups of legal rights will be none too pleased with Brown. But then, these folks only give lip service to honoring civil laws and constitutions anyways. Obviously, if the Christianist/Mormons prevail, no minority group will be safe from the tyranny of the majority. Here are some highlights from the Los Angeles Times:

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California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to invalidate the voter-approved ban on gay marriage, declaring that "the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification."Brown's argument on Proposition 8, contained in an 111-page brief filed at the last possible moment before the court's deadline, surprised many legal experts. The attorney general has a legal duty to uphold the state's laws as long as there are reasonable grounds to do so.

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The California Constitution protects certain rights as "inalienable," Brown wrote. Those include a right to liberty and to privacy, which the courts have said includes a person's right to marry.The issue before the court "presents a conflict between the constitutional power of the voters to amend the Constitution, on the one hand, and the Constitution's Declaration of Rights, on the other," Brown wrote. The issue "is whether rights secured under the state Constitution's safeguard of liberty as an 'inalienable' right may intentionally be withdrawn from a class of persons by an initiative amendment."

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Goodwin Liu, associate dean and professor of law at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, said it was "extraordinary for the chief law enforcement officer of the state to decline to enforce a law -- even on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.""The chief law enforcement officer of the state is charged with enforcing laws, even laws with which he disagrees," Liu said.

Join the Impact - Nationwide Protests Today

The "Join the Impact" movement has taken off like a California wild fire and today hundreds of protests are taking place all across the USA. Hopefully, many usually complacent members of the LGBT community will come out and stand with others who want to show that we gays are everywhere and that we do not all look like outlandish images in gay pride parades that our enemies love to disseminate. Information on the effort and an event in your area can be found at the Join the Impact website here. In the Norfolk area, the protest will be at 1:30 PM at Norfolk City Hall, 810 Union Street, Norfolk, Virgina. Events are taking place at six (6) other cities, including Richmond, Charlottesville and Williamsburg. If your schedule permits and an event is nearby, PLEASE consider attending. If we do not fight for our rights, do not expect others to do the right thing and just hand them to us.

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And believe me, the media is picking up on the movement. Here are highlights from the New York Times:

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The Internet played an unprecedented role in rallying voters during this year’s election. In the aftermath of the election, Web 2.0 tools are continuing to play a role in other causes, astonishing long-time activists with the power and speed with which it gets their message out.

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The latest example is a series of international protests scheduled for Saturday in opposition to California’s Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban that passed on Nov. 4. Join the Impact, a Web site built the morning of Friday, Nov. 7, has rallied hundreds of thousands of people who are gathering this weekend in eight countries, 50 states and 300 cities.

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This is the pinnacle of giving people a voice online. And people are taking that voice and making it meaningful with a megaphone.” Amy Balliett, one of the two original organizers of the movement, has organized local demonstrations and fundraisers in the past the old-fashioned way, with fliers around town and word of mouth. She said she is astonished at the momentum and speed that Join the Impact has picked up from the Web.

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Join the Impact is also on Twitter and Facebook, which are also helping to “drive the masses,” Ms. Balliett said. After the Saturday protests, the week-old organization will keep harnessing the power of the Web to fight for equality, she said. Next up: they are planning a “day without gays,” when they will encourage gay people to stay home and not contribute to the economy.

NYC Protest Against Proposition 8

It looks like there was a large turnout at the protest at the Mormon Temple in New York City last night and hopefully the number and size of protests will continue to grow. Would that gays and our supporters had been as visible during the campaign to stop Proposition 8. I hope we have learned the lesson that cowering out of sight and "playing nice" do not win over our enemies, particularly since our Christianist and Mormon enemies will lie, cheat and steal to impose their warped form of religion on all. Here are some highlights from Rex Wockner's blog:
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An estimated 7,500 to 15,000 people marched through Manhattan tonight protesting California's Proposition 8, the voter-passed initiative that amended the state constitution Nov. 4 to end same-sex marriage, which was legalized by the state Supreme Court in a ruling that took effect June 16.

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The march began at the Mormon Temple on Columbus Avenue, went down Broadway, turned east on 61st Street, then south on Central Park West to Columbus Circle. Gay activists have claimed that more than half of the money that funded the ubiquitous TV ads that convinced Californians to vote for Prop 8 was donated by Mormon families at the church's urging.

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Crowd estimates varied. Journalist and radio personality Michelangelo Signorile reported 15,000; lead organizer Corey Johnson estimated 12,000; blogger and participant Joe Jervis (JoeMyGod) said 10,000 to 15,000; former New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Normal Siegel said he was comfortable with a figure of 7,500; and longtime gay activist Bill Dobbs, who opposes same-sex marriage, favoring civil unions instead, said 5,000 to 7,000.