February 2, 2005
DOROTHY'S FRIENDS VS. FRIENDS OF DOROTHY:
House OKs gay marriage amendment (Abe Levy, 2/02/05, Wichita Eagle)
The fate of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Kansas is now in the hands of voters and an April 5 ballot.The measure passed this morning 86-37, with no debate.
The House approved the measure today by a two thirds majority, the final step required for the proposal to go before voters.
If approved by a simple majority, Kansas would become the 18th state to have such a constitutional ban.
The House sendorsement today marks a victory for amendment supporters whose efforts last session were unsuccesful in getting a similar measure through the Legislature.
The Culture war is turning into a rout. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 2, 2005 12:56 PM
They had a constitutional amendment fail in Idaho today, 14-21 in the Senate (where it needed a 2/3 majority).
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,146170,00.html
Anyway, I wish I could share your optimism. The hippies are running the law and all progress is liable to being "sweet-mystery-of-lifed" out of existence whenever Sandy O'Connor feels the chicken entrails are telling her to do it. We are going to be stuck with the limitless license of the sexual revolution for several more decades.
Posted by: Random Lawyer at February 2, 2005 4:19 PMAs usual with liberalism, the courts don't feeeeeeeeeeeeeeel like letting that "rout" happen -- at least not yet.
On the plus side, when the SCOTUS gets around to invoking the FFC Clause to make gay marriage legal across the land, we'll get to see how Andrew Sullivan reacts after calling that particular legal maneuver a right-wing red herring.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at February 2, 2005 10:30 PMRandom, you need to start thinking about all the times in our history when the S.Ct. failed to have its way with this or that issue. Ask the Cherokees or the Copperheads how it feels to have the Supreme Court on your side and nothing else.
If push comes to shove, and I am talking about real pushing and real shoving, the lawyers who will make the difference will be the JAGS, and the precedents they will be looking at are what their predecessors did under Jackson and Lincoln.
Most happily for all concerned, the Supreme Court seems to understand this as well as anyone.
Posted by: Lou Gots at February 4, 2005 12:40 PMLou, perhaps it's a failure of imagination on my part. I can just barely imagine modern America interning a large number of Muslims, say if Cleveland were to disappear in a mushroom cloud the same day the Empire State Building fell. (Not advocating one way or the other, just saying I can imagine it.)
But I have a hard time imagining real pushing and shoving against the various degenerates that make up the modern hard left. At least not the kind the US Army did to the Indians and the Confederates. And I also don't know what you mean when you say the Supreme Court understands this. Could you elaborate?
Posted by: Random Lawyer at February 4, 2005 2:11 PM