"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Why do you suppose

we have to learn about the basic processes of a constitutional republic from other countries?

The Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) has ordered the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) to suspend the process of the referendum on same sex marriages that was to have been included in the December 2010 municipal elections.

The court order was based on an appeal filed against the referendum.

The Recurso Amparo (appeal) was presented by an individual identified only by the last names, QuirĂ³s Salazar, alleging that the referendum violates the rights and freedoms of individuals.

The referendum was to have let the population decide the fate of a proposal for law that would allow same sex marriages in Costa Rica

Opponents to the referendum have argued that leaving the allowing the majority of the population (93%) which is heterosexual would be a constitutional violation of the 7% of the homosexual population.


I wish the various United States would pay attention to stuff like this -- before the fact.

I think there is a fairly strong argument to be made that the amendments to state consitutions outlawing same-sex marriage violate the federal constitution, since I'm pretty sure they can shown to violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments. If there are any lawyers out there with any insights on this, I'd love to hear from you.

Via Joe.My.God.

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