Beginning tomorrow, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments on overturning (or sustaining) the Defense of Marriage Act, which dates from President Clinton’s term in office and California’s Proposition 8 which overturned marriage equality in the state of California (and which was to a great deal funded and pushed by the LDS church).

News reports today indicate that there has been a sea-change in public opinion over the last nine years, and that more than 53% of Americans now support marriage equality for  gays and lesbians. Most people now say they have a gay relative or friend, so apparently living in the closet helps no one.

I believe the rulings are not anticipated until June, so the next 2-3 months will be tense and a political hotbed. I can’t wait to see the tripe that will hit Facebook as those who want to maintain the status quo fight their losing battle via the social media.

We held our 20th annual family reunion this past weekend in Thermopolis, Wyoming. The weather was hot and the sky filled with smoke from distant fires. Much of the west, including Colorado, Utah, Montana and Wyoming are blanketed this year after an unseasonably dry winter and spring.

Today is the Fourth of July and fireworks are dotting the air around the Salt Lake valley — and in our cul-de-sac. I guess we don’t have as much fire danger in the city in spite of the extremely warm weather and 38 days since the last measurable precipitation.

Last Thursday the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most of the so-called “Obamacare” [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] law, which means among other things, 30 million additional Americans will be able to obtain medical coverage. The Right decries this altruism in many different ways, but mostly as “Socialism” and “government meddling”.

The divide in our country on this and many other subjects on the 236th anniversary of its founding is stark and rather scary.

A married LDS couple with whom we work invited us to the wedding reception of their son the other night.

Now, I want to note here that I am not a big fan of being asked to celebrate (e.g. contribute financially or gift wise or in most cases, even attend) something in which I can not legally partake. Also note that we had never actually met the couple, but I acquiesced to attending because I like and respect the parents.

Like any social being, I can show up and smile and make witticisms and be my normal charming self, but I personally begin to bristle when asked to swallow my pride and ignore the fact that my 23-year relationship would not only be unacknowledged by this particular group, it is essentially considered immoral, if not illegal by many of them.

We arrived at the evening gathering to the sight of what appeared to be an entire LDS ward plopped into the backyard: Small children, babies, older people, young couples, singles. A multi-million-dollar building overhead and industrial carpeting underfoot and we could have been in any LDS chapel in the world (except for the exceedingly “white and delightsome”-ness of the prevalent skin tones).

My honey always makes me do the writing whenever faced with a joint task, so I signed the guestbook, “At least yours is legal. Best wishes….”

I felt much better.

Our brothers and sisters in New York were able to legally marry today.

LINK

From The New York Daily News:

Gay marriage now just one vote shy of becoming law in New York despite Archbishop Dolan’s objections

BY KENNETH LOVETT
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

ALBANY – Gay marriage moved just one vote shy Tuesday of becoming law in New York as the state’s top Catholic raised holy hell trying to stop it.

Sen. Roy McDonald (R-Saratoga) – in a dramatic reversal from his earlier opposition – became the second GOPer in as many days to give his blessing to same-sex nuptials, bringing Senate support to 31 votes.
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My friend Mike pointed out this CNN article as a legal balance to the religious argument in my previous post.

On Prop 8, it’s the evidence, stupid

Editor’s note: Lisa Bloom is the managing partner of The Bloom Firm, where she practices civil and criminal law.

(CNN) — There’s a big difference between a political debate about same-sex marriage and the recent hard-fought court challenge to the California ban, Proposition 8.

In politics, anything goes: Vague, sinister comments about same-sex marriage threatening children or undermining the sanctity of heterosexual marriage were prevalent during the Prop 8 campaign. In court, same-sex marriage opponents needed solid evidence to back up these and other claims.

Despite “able and energetic counsel,” they never produced it. That’s why they lost, resoundingly, in the federal district court. And that lack of evidence should dog opponents up through the chain of appeals that is now beginning, because appellate courts are required to review only the evidence in the court record and to give great deference to Judge Vaughn Walker’s findings of fact. He was there, after all, presiding over the trial, and the appellate judges weren’t.

And what a lopsided trial he presided over. All the anti-same-sex marriage arguments imploded when subjected to the rules of evidence.
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