The law of unintended consequences

So, the California State Supreme Court found that it violates the state constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law to deprive me of my equal right to marry legally. Starting June 17, lesbians and gay men will, for the first time, be equal under the law to straight people, at least in California -- the federal government still has the "Defense of [some] Marriage Act" to deprive us of our federal rights.

Of course, some out-of-state hate group thinks this is a very bad thing, and they've been trying first to stay the decision (boo hoo, you lose) and now have put a measure on the ballot to amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Which according to an article in today's Washington Post, might create more problems than you'd expect. My favorite:

"If the November measure were to pass, we would be entering unprecedented territory," said David B. Cruz, an expert on constitutional law at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "We have never seen a constitutional amendment like this in California that would take away rights that people had already exercised."

Somehow I suspect many Californians (51 pecent of whom said in a recent Gallup Poll that they had no problem with marriage equality) are going to find that a much harder thing to do than just ban same-sex marriage with a proposition. Taking away rights is just kind of un-Californian, not to mention un-American, not to mention, you know, wrong.

If you want to see some of the other chaotic social changes that might result from this mean-spirited little amendment, the article is here.

Comments

[Red]

And did you hear about the county clerk in Kern county (Bakersfield) that refused to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, then decided to just not perform ANY marriages, gay or straight? She said that since the vote was 5-4, there were obviously people that didn't want it, so why should she comply?

Umm, because it's your JOB, maybe, stupid cow?? Hope someone contacted the ACLU on this.

[NA]

Unfortunately I have seen this before. In Oregon, which is considered quite the elite, granola munching, latte drinking liberal state...May I introduce the 2004 Measure 36 ammendment to the Oregon Consitution http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/nov22004/guide/meas/m36_bt.html

Yes, it passed quite handily only two counties voted down out right.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Ballot_Measure_36_(2004)

Gay marriage was legal in Multnomah and Benton County in Oregon, it is now against the state constitution. Oh, but Portland does have a gay mayor.

[Catherine]

I am fond of your site and visit often enough to hope that while your immediate concern is the issue of gay marriage in California, you will also watch what's happening to others in the world.

Realizing that you are capable of Googling "Islam, gay" for yourself, I've set out links to only three sites and a quote from a fourth. If you are short on time, I encourage you to go to the first two. They aren't large and are worth your attention:

http://www.gaypatriot.net/2008/06/05/gay-bashing-in-amsterdam-goes-unnoticed-in-us/

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/first_they_came_for_the_gays/

Islam and Gays, generally:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/justin-mccarthy/2007/11/13/iranian-official-advocates-killing-gays-msm-silent

http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=FBC2142D-4A38-4B4C-9C0B-4B0AA4CF3822
According to the Iranian gay and lesbian rights group Homan, the Iranian government has put to death an estimated 4,000 homosexuals since 1980...
A contemporary Muslim writer, Shaykh Abdul-Azeez Al-Fawzaan, called homosexuality “one of the most sinful acts known to humankind” and said that it was “evidence of perverted instincts, total collapse of shame and honor, and extreme filthiness of character and soul.”

Legal views on punishment vary. Among the Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhahib), the Hanafi school mandates a severe beating for the first offense, and the death penalty for a repeat offender. The Shafi’i school calls for 100 lashes for an unmarried homosexual, death by stoning for a married one. The Hanbali school requires stoning across the board. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, directed his followers to “kill the one who sodomizes and the one who lets it be done to him” (‘Umdat al-Salik, p17.3).

In many areas these injunctions are still followed. The Islamic Penal Law Against Homosexuals in Iran calls for the death penalty for sodomy and one hundred lashes for lesbianism for the first three offenses, with death for the fourth offense. Homosexuality is a capital offense not only in Iran, but also in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Mauritania. In Malaysia, it can draw a twenty-year prison sentence, and is illegal also in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan, among others.

Of course, Afghanistan under the Taliban regime drew international attention for killing gays by toppling walls onto them. Pakistani law mandates two years in prison for homosexual activity, but the traditional Islamic penalties of lashing and stoning are still widely popular. When authorities in the United Arab Emirates arrested twenty-six men whom they accused of participating in a mass gay wedding – with twelve dressed as grooms and twelve as brides, plus a disc jockey and a man who was to perform the wedding ceremony – in November 2005, they announced plans to subject the men not only to lashings and jail time, but also to hormone treatments.

In light of all this, the silence of campus gay rights groups and the so-called “progressive” Left generally about the global efforts by Islamic jihadists to impose Islamic Sharia law is appallingly short-sighted. While they attack Christians, who are not calling for gays to be imprisoned or killed under any circumstances, they say nothing about a genuine threat to their survival. While they attack Israel, a gay-friendly country, they are silent about the murder of gays in Islamic Iran.