Gay Couples
Jerry Brown, Pretzel
Good politicians have the ability to appear to be on both sides of an issue, but Jerry Brown -- the former governor and presidential candidate, and the current attorney general of California -- is breaking new ground in this realm. Try to follow this: Brown, a likely candidate for governor in 2010, is supportive of same-sex marriage politically. But before the state supreme court, he's defending Prop 8, the just-approved initiative to ban same-sex marriage in California. At the same time, he's defending the marriages of approximately 18,000 gay couples who took the plunge in the past five months, while such unions were legal.
Rights for Chickens and Not People
Political consultant Fiona Hutton, of Fiona Hutton & Associates, worked on the campaign to defeat Prop 2, the Humane Society initiative on farm animal regulation. It passed. So did Prop 8, the same-sex marriage ban. And she writes to say she is wondering what this says about California voters:
"Whether you voted for John McCain or Barack Obama, consensus is that we Americans experienced something historic and amazing at the national level. It was all about change and calls for equality.
Many of us, however, are scratching our heads at the decisions that California voters made on November 4th. Californians chose to protect the rights of chickens, but not the rights of committed gay partners. Contrary to what pundits are saying, we didn’t really experience “social change” here in California. And, according to some peoples’ perspectives, we didn’t really vote for social compassion.
Couple this puzzling scenario with the shopping spree voters went on, approving a bagful of bond and tax measures that further saddle our state and local jurisdictions with significant levels of new debt. Aren’t we in the worst economic crisis in recent history? Isn’t our state broke? Voters seemingly made no connection between the ballots they cast and our state’s overdrawn bank account.
We experienced some version of voter schizophrenia that is tough to explain. There was just no consistency. As political professionals, we look for trends and ideological sweeps but really it’s very individualized when voters enter a voting booth.
Forced Divorces? Protecting Couples in the Same Sex Marriage Fallout
If you were disappointed by last night's results showing a victory for a ban on same-sex marriage in California, brace yourself for what comes next. By various estimates, more than 11,000 gay couples have tied the knot in the state. (The real number is probably higher). While it would be wonderful if those marriages are not challenged in court, it's certain they will be. Legal experts are divided on whether the marriages will be ruled invalid because of the now enacted constitutional ban. And the initiative itself, Prop 8, could be thrown out by the courts. But there's a decent chance that thousands of married gay couples will have their marriages cancelled.
What to do? First off, supporters of same-sex marriage need to highlight the issue and fight like hell in the courts. But policy makers also need to plan for the possibility that the court fight will fail. The real trouble is that some gay couples replaced their domestic partnerships with marriages. So a cancellation of their marriage could leave them without any formal legal bond. It might be wise to enact legislation -- and I would hope that supporters of Prop 8 (that is opponents of same-sex marriage) would support this -- that would automatically transfer any and all cancelled marriages back into domestic partnerships. Unless of course, the couple themselves opt out.
The Dangers Of Teaching Same Sex Marriage To Young Children
Supporters of Prop 8, an initiative to ban same-sex marriage, claim that if gay couples continue to be permitted to marry in
The controversy begs a practical question:: What would it be like to try to teach same-sex marriage to kindergarteners? I can only imagine how one might do that.
The scene, a kindergarten classroom, morning
Little girl #1: J is my favorite letter!
