California had passed a law establishing domestic partnership as separate from marriage. Since the benefits were not equal, this law was ruled unconstitutional, and the ban was lifted. That’s when 18.000 couples tied the knot. The Prop H8ters responded by saying, “Okay, if discrimination is unconstitutional, let’s add discrimination to the Constitution.” With both the mormon and roman catholic church (as well as dozens of smaller fundamentalist groups) pouring millions into a disinformation campaign, they managed to push the amendment through.

A state amendment has to be challenged at the federal level. The case we’re celebrating was a matter of two couples taking the State of California to Federal Court, because a state’s constitution cannot contradict the Constitution of the US. Judge Vaughn Walker is a Federal judge, and his ruling is important because (among other things) it delineates the plain fact that equality does not harm opposite-sex marriages and the government has NO business ruling on who may marry–provided they are consenting single adults. This is important because it re-establishes the founding principle that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” often called “Separation of Church and State.”

There’s a good summary here at the NY Law School blog

http://newyorklawschool.typepad.com/leonardlink/2010/08/federal-trial-court-rules-that-proposition-8-violates-the-14th-amendment.html

And Judge Walker’s comments are really worth reading. It’s clear why the h8ters didn’t want this trial videotaped–half of them chickened out of testifying, their “expert” witnesses were disqualified as ‘expert,’ and their testimony contradicted itself all over the place. I wish it had been filmed… I’d love to see what Jon Stewart would’ve done with the clips.

Something wonderful has come of all the conflict. People all over the world have come together in many ways to fight this injustice in a country that still claims to be free. And–shameless plug, because it’s lex Beecroft’s brainchild–the I DO and I DO TWO anthologies are still sending all profits to Lambda Legal because the fight ain’t over yet…

http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=IDO21001
http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=IDO21002

And, James, YES. We humans have more serious issues to worry about. Who benefits from all this distraction over tiny differences? Who is getting away with wholesale environmental destruction while everyone’s watching the frothing fundies?

One small thing, though…. Surfing is a lifestyle, condo living is a lifestyle… these are things that can change. Who we are, who we love? That’s not a “lifestyle.” It’s our very lives.

Blog Tourist #8432