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The end game begins......
Jul. 31st, 2012 01:38 pmLikely almost anyone reading this knows my husband and I are one of the 18,000+ couples that got married while it was legal here in California. Just as likely, y'all know just how emotionally devastating I found the Prop 8 vote in 2008.
This coming Saturday marks two years since Judge Vaughn Walker pronounced Prop 8 unconstitutional under the US Constitution. The 9th circuit of the Federal Court of Appeals has upheld Walker not once, but twice. The denial by the 9th circuit to hear the case on appeal en banc left the pro Prop 8 forces only one last option - an appeal to the US Supreme Court. That request finally came late this morning.
We should know by early October, whether SCOTUS decides to take the case or not. If not, Walker's decision stands. If they take it, it will probably be June of 2013 when a final ruling is rendered.
I'm actually hoping they don't take the appeal.
There will already be a large numbers of DOMA related cases landing on SCOTUS' doorstep this fall. In my mind, the DOMA appeals are more important for our community, as DOMA's overturn gets us recognition at the federal level. That'll mean Social Security survivor benefits, joint income tax, extension of spousal health insurance benefits, the right of surviving spouses to inherit a joint estate without inheritance tax levies, just to name a scant few. Today, yet another federal court, this one in Connecticut, found the section of DOMA that defines marriage unconstitutional. It's the 6th time that has happened
Given the bloody gridlock that is DC today, I believe it's the judicial branch that gives our community the best shot at assuring our civil rights. A decision on DOMA could easily be 6-3, if not 7-2 in our favor.
This coming Saturday marks two years since Judge Vaughn Walker pronounced Prop 8 unconstitutional under the US Constitution. The 9th circuit of the Federal Court of Appeals has upheld Walker not once, but twice. The denial by the 9th circuit to hear the case on appeal en banc left the pro Prop 8 forces only one last option - an appeal to the US Supreme Court. That request finally came late this morning.
We should know by early October, whether SCOTUS decides to take the case or not. If not, Walker's decision stands. If they take it, it will probably be June of 2013 when a final ruling is rendered.
I'm actually hoping they don't take the appeal.
There will already be a large numbers of DOMA related cases landing on SCOTUS' doorstep this fall. In my mind, the DOMA appeals are more important for our community, as DOMA's overturn gets us recognition at the federal level. That'll mean Social Security survivor benefits, joint income tax, extension of spousal health insurance benefits, the right of surviving spouses to inherit a joint estate without inheritance tax levies, just to name a scant few. Today, yet another federal court, this one in Connecticut, found the section of DOMA that defines marriage unconstitutional. It's the 6th time that has happened
Given the bloody gridlock that is DC today, I believe it's the judicial branch that gives our community the best shot at assuring our civil rights. A decision on DOMA could easily be 6-3, if not 7-2 in our favor.
