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Amy Davidson writes about a “very odd exchange” at the Supreme Court hearing on Prop 8 today, and the role of procreation in the case: “If our only concern in all this is what’s good for the children,” she writes, “then we should support same-sex marriage. It protects the children of same-sex couples. It harms no one.” Read more: http://nyr.kr/13uwffo
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"The real example of courage in this story, however, comes from Portman’s son Will, who is twenty-one years old… Will Portman proved, once again, that the most powerful political that act any gay person can take is coming out. Public-opinion polls show, and have for decades, that people who know a gay person are far less likely to support discrimination… To have a close relative who is gay or lesbian can only magnify the effect seen in polling. The most prominent example of this is Cheney, who has been a longtime supporter of gay marriage, as is the former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, who also has a lesbian daughter."
— Richard Socarides on Conservative Senator Rob Portman’s announcement in support of equal marriage rights: http://nyr.kr/WsSooQ(Source: newyorker.com)
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"It does not call for gay marriage immediately in all fifty states. Yet, the President and his staff felt strongly that he had to come out fully in favor of gay rights, as he had done in his Inaugural Address—and it achieved that, too, making a legal argument breathtaking in its full embrace of gay rights."
— Richard Socarides on Obama’s brief against Prop 8: http://nyr.kr/Vhvodh(Source: newyorker.com)
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"Eleven hundred and thirty-eight: the number of federal laws that rely on a definition of marriage. Many more of them are about money, in one way or the other, than about love. Nor is the concern simply that of the family involved: companies have an interest, too, as does the larger business world, in not having families live in what might be called an economic closet."
— In today’s Daily Comment, Amy Davidson considers the business case for marriage equality: http://nyr.kr/XCzD2p(Source: newyorker.com)
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Is Illinois About to Legalize Gay Marriage?
Is Illinois about to legalize gay marriage? Richard Socarides on why this would be a big win for marriage-equality advocates: http://nyr.kr/UIGTsQ
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After a year in which we saw a number of high-profile gay-rights victories, including the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and the legislative enactment of same-sex marriage in New York, it’s hard to imagine that more big news is on the immediate horizon. But it is. Two highly significant court rulings in gay-rights cases pending in federal appellate courts are expected soon. Moreover, President Barack Obama’s self-described “evolution” on same sex-marriage appears likely to end with a strategically timed (if low-key) pre-election announcement of his support for marriage equality.
- Richard Socarides on Obama, the courts, and gay marriage: http://nyr.kr/tIzPVF
