With Anthony Kennedy's retirement from the Supreme Court, the gay press is going nuts forecasting doom and destruction to gay rights, embodied in the predictions of the complete overturn of Obergefell. This is a good capsule of the prognostications:
Velshi goes on to enumerate all we could lose if Obergefell is overturned.
As it happens, overturning Obergefell is not going to be that easy, in spite of the pronouncements of certified ignoramus Mat Staver. For starters, whoever wants to sue to end same-sex marriage has to prove that they're somehow harmed by it. How do you prove you've been harmed by marriage between two strangers? There's also the fact that the decision in Obergefell is solidly grounded in the Fourteenth Amendment's requirement for equal protection under the law and due process. As a reminder, the Fourteenth Amendment begins as follows:
Now, I realize the "Christian" right doesn't like the idea of everyone being treated equally, but that's America for you: it's in the Constitution, so live with it.
Velshi's guest, Sarah Warbelow of HRC, I think is more on target:
(I inserted the "not" because otherwise the whole passage makes no sense.)
What the right will try to do is chip away at marriage rights on the state level, leading to years of law suits. If one makes it up to the Supreme Court, there is a possibility that the "conservative" justices could find a way to weasel their way around the Fourteenth Amendmemt. One only need look at the "reasoning" in Citizens United and Hobby Lobby to see how far they would go. That, however, would be very unlikely to give them an excuse to overturn Obergefell.
So, don't look for any dramatic gestures from the Court on same-sex marriage. Watch out, though, for the chip-chip-chip that has worked for the retrograde element on abortion rights.
MSNBC’s Ali Velshi said he’s worried that LGBT Americans could see their civil rights stripped away by President Donald Trump’s replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Velshi warned a newly conservative high court could undo the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling to legalize same-sex marriage, and he said LGBT people could find themselves at the mercy of state laws.
Velshi goes on to enumerate all we could lose if Obergefell is overturned.
As it happens, overturning Obergefell is not going to be that easy, in spite of the pronouncements of certified ignoramus Mat Staver. For starters, whoever wants to sue to end same-sex marriage has to prove that they're somehow harmed by it. How do you prove you've been harmed by marriage between two strangers? There's also the fact that the decision in Obergefell is solidly grounded in the Fourteenth Amendment's requirement for equal protection under the law and due process. As a reminder, the Fourteenth Amendment begins as follows:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Now, I realize the "Christian" right doesn't like the idea of everyone being treated equally, but that's America for you: it's in the Constitution, so live with it.
Velshi's guest, Sarah Warbelow of HRC, I think is more on target:
Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, said she believes same-sex marriage is settled law that one court ruling could [not] nullify.
“What we’re really worried about is the chipping away of rights under marriage,” Warbelow said.
She said Trump’s first court pick — Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was nominated after Senate Republicans refused to seat an Obama nominee — believed same-sex couples should have fewer rights than heterosexual couples.
“It’s this creation of skim-milk marriage that’s really at risk for LGBTQ families and couples around the country,” Warbelow said.
(I inserted the "not" because otherwise the whole passage makes no sense.)
What the right will try to do is chip away at marriage rights on the state level, leading to years of law suits. If one makes it up to the Supreme Court, there is a possibility that the "conservative" justices could find a way to weasel their way around the Fourteenth Amendmemt. One only need look at the "reasoning" in Citizens United and Hobby Lobby to see how far they would go. That, however, would be very unlikely to give them an excuse to overturn Obergefell.
So, don't look for any dramatic gestures from the Court on same-sex marriage. Watch out, though, for the chip-chip-chip that has worked for the retrograde element on abortion rights.
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