"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

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

DOMA on the run


If you've lost track of the various lawsuits against the government because of DOMA, Chris Geidner has an intelligible and useful summary: the government (which is to say, Congressional Republicans) is losing on all fronts.

Of course, given the make-up and record of the Supreme Court, it's anyone guess what will happen once one or more of these suits gets there -- and they will. Scalia, who specializes in answering the wrong questions, will find that nothing in the Constitution guarantees a right to "homosexual marriage." (This is no stretch -- he's already said so.) Of course, nothing in the Constitution guarantees a right to marriage at all, but that's not going to bother him. Thomas will not say anything and will vote with the Republican platform.

Given the level of corporate support for equality in the U.S., Alito and Thomas may very well vote in our favor.

I'm not really sure whether I'm willing to count on Kagan and Breyer to vote in our favor on this one. I'm more sure of Ginsberg and Sotomayor.

The general consensus, though, is that it will all come down to Kennedy. He's been supportive of Constitutional rights in the past, at least for gays and lesbians, but marriage may be a bit of a stretch. It's going to depend on the case.

Anyway, take a l ook at Geidner's post to bring yourself up to date.

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