The Importance of the Judiciary

SACRAMENTO – Opponents of same-sex marriage have abandoned their campaign to recall a Sacramento County Superior Court judge who upheld a controversial gay-rights law.

The drive against Judge Loren McMaster had been closely watched, coming as it did at the height of ideological fights in the courts and Legislature over same-sex marriage.

The state’s attorney general, judges from across the country and gay-rights advocates had rallied behind the jurist, saying removing him would send an ominous message.

Sacramento County social conservatives launched the recall in late December, angered by McMaster’s ruling three months earlier that upheld the state’s domestic partners law granting same-sex couples many of the rights and responsibilities of marriage.

The state Supreme Court unanimously agreed with McMaster in a June 29 ruling.

“That took the wind out of our sails,” recall leader Tony Andrade said in a phone message announcing the campaign had folded. (source)

We’ve all heard of the Judiciary. When we grew up and studied the structure of our government, we learned that we had the President, the Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and the Judiciary.

In the past, it seemed to me at least that the “action” always came from the White House or the Congress. Seldom did you hear from the Judiciary, except once in a great while when some monumental case was decided that cut right to the core of our civil rights. A few cases come to mind in my lifetime; Roe vs Wade (right to choose), Bowers vs Hardwick (right to privacy for gay citizens), and Lawrence vs Texas (overturning of sodomy laws). See also Welcoming Gay People Back Into the Fold: The Supreme Court Overrules Bowers v. Hardwick for more information.

Because of the Judiciary, we now have marriage equality in Massachusetts. There was also an effort to kick the four judges off the bench who voted to marriage equality in Massachusetts, just as the case above illustrates.

Shortly, we will have to deal with the confirmation of another Supreme Court justice. Everyone is saying that we want someone who is “moderate”, but no one really believes that. We all know the type of judge the President wants, and the majority of the House of Representatives, as far as that goes.

Basically, they want a “moderate” judge who believes in “American Family Values”, and will “uphold the Constitution” and “not legislate from the bench” to “make new laws”.

Translated...
American Family Values = No gay marriage or anything (civil union) that will approximate marriage (crude translation: give the fags NOTHING!), no abortion, nothing out of the mainstream.

Mainstream = Nobody really knows. This term is thrown around and we are all wondering what the hell they are talking about. Twenty years ago, this term would have worked. Today, the reality in America is that just down the street, people know of a same-sex couple raising a child and guess what, the problems they face are the same problems that you face so.... isn’t that couple now mainstream?

Uphold the Constitution = Uphold the principles of the Constitution, with a few exceptions. When the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, “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.”, we do want the Supreme Court to uphold that, except in cases where it violates “American Family Values” (see above). That means that homosexuals are to be exempt from this provision of the U.S. Constitution even though gay couples who want to have the protections of marriage are being denied equal protection of the laws (This amendment will be overridden by a new amendment added to the Constitution entitled "Shit Happens - Section I"). If the Supreme Court (or any other court for that matter) rules otherwise, they are “legislating from the bench” and “making new laws”.

And that is what people like Dick Cheney (with his token closeted daughter Mary who apparently has no sense of self worth), President Bush (who has “many gay friends”, who also apparently have no sense of self worth), and Senator Rick Santorum (who is “enlightened” because he has on his staff an “openly gay staffer” (who also just happens to have no sense of self worth or self respect and is all too willing to do the bidding of his boss at the expense of people just like him).

The fact of the matter is, more of us are becoming more mainstream and people like George W. Bush and Rick Santorum and the Dick Cheney’s of the world just can’t seem to deal with the fact that they and their views are quickly becoming obsolete. The Judiciary is working and the U.S. Constitution is being upheld. They just don’t like the rulings being given by the courts that uphold the civil rights inherent in the Constitution. The world must be turning into a lonely place for people like that.

I still have faith that the majority of the American People understand that equality and fairness should rule the day. I have to believe that because if I don’t, I will no longer believe in my country.