In another historic landmark day in the ongoing battle for equal rights in California (and America), US District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8, the statewide ban against same-sex marriage.
The judge based his decision in part on the fact that opponents to same-sex marriage simply had no compelling argument against it.
Key findings included:
* “The Proposition 8 campaign relied on fears that children exposed to the concept of same-sex marriage may become gay or lesbian.
The ads insinuated that learning about same-sex marriage could make a child gay or lesbian and that parents should dread having a gay or lesbian child.”
* “In the absence of a rational basis, what remains of proponents’ case is an inference, amply supported by evidence in the record, that Proposition 8 was premised on the belief that same-sex couples simply are not as good as opposite-sex couples.
Whether that belief is based on moral disapproval of homosexuality, animus towards gays and lesbians or simply a belief that a relationship between a man and a woman is inherently better than a relationship between two men or two women, this belief is not a proper basis on which to legislate.”
* “Proposition 8 places the force of law behind stigmas against gays and lesbians, including: gays and lesbians do not have intimate relationships similar to heterosexual couples; gays and lesbians are not as good as heterosexuals; and gay and lesbian relationships do not deserve the full recognition of society.”
Said Mickey Lim, a San Francisco resident, US Air Force veteran and the vice president of Out4Immigration, a group that advocates for equal immigration rights for same-sex couples denied equal protections due, in part, to marriage inequality at the federal level, “[the ruling] shows that basic individual rights cannot be trampled on by a mob, whether the mob is carrying pitchforks or at the voting booth.”
The Bay Citizen reported that “some 300 supporters of same-sex marriage marched down Market Street to City Hall in celebration early Wednesday evening.” It appears that the Bay Citizen has lost a “zero” in that estimate. KazzaDrask Media was on the scene and reports at least 3,000 supporters left the Castro area at 6 pm en route to the Civic Center.
Source: Bay Citizen; photo by KazzaDrask Media (taken with an iPhone).
Kathy Drasky regularly writes about online culture. Her marketing and communications work with the ANZA Technology Network, Advance Global Australians and with various Australians and Australian enterprises has led to at least a dozen trips Down Under.
An accomplished digital photographer, her photos have appeared in 7×7 Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and Google Schmap.
