by Be_Devine [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Many courageous and hard-working women and men deserve credit for the recent marriage victory in California. But there is one man whose courageous stand for civil liberties laid the groundwork for the monumental California Supreme Court decision. Once a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, this man would go on to become the mayor of the great City of San Francisco. Although he was straight and married, he was a strong advocate for the rights of people in LGBT community. He was criticized by many for standing up for the fundamental rights of those who did not have a strong voice in politics. But as history played itself out, his firm stand in favor of civil liberties was vindicated.

The man’s name, of course, is George Moscone.

The California Supreme Court's decision in In re: Marriage Cases was premised upon the right to privacy contained in the California State Constitution.  In the decision of the Court, Chief Justice Ronald George wrote: “Our cases make clear that the right to marry is an integral component of an individual’s interest in personal autonomy protected by the privacy provision of Article 1, Section 1.”

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The San Jose Mercury News tells the story of one Gopalan Nair, a Fremont blogger who has found himself in a Singaporean jail. Gopalan accused a judge of "prostituting herself" to the will of authorities there. Apparently "insulting a public servant in a judicial proceeding" can land you up to two years in prison on the strict island nation.

In light of this, I'll keep to myself my two cents about Monday's Supreme Court decision to consider U.S. Navy arguments for why it's ok to harm whales and other marine life by testing powerful sonar off California's southern coast. And I guess if, on the same day, they refuse to hear cases against Bush administration attempts to circumvent environmental protections in the building of a U.S.-Mexican border fence, I won't be using the word 'prostitute' to describe what the Supreme Court is doing to California's environment.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

A solid majority of Americans believe that Barack Obama will win the presidency. Oddly enough, though Obama holds support among younger voters, they are the least optimistic that he will win.

Young voters,in fact, may be key in this year's election. "All key indicators andtrends point to a predicted record turnout of young people voting thiscoming November," predicted CIRCLE director Peter Levine.

Today's Sacramento Bee has a rundown of the path to gay marriage in the state, from Gov. Deukmejian's 1984 veto of an anti-discrimination bill to this year's Supreme Court decision.

There's more... 

[courtesy of Blog for America]

McClatchy reports on the expected Supreme Court decision in the Exxon Valdez lawsuit:

Any Monday between now and June 23, the Supreme Court could issue its decision on the Exxon Valdez lawsuit, a case that Alaskans have been awaiting for nearly two decades.

The court generally issues its decisions on Mondays, and the Exxon case is due out before the Supreme Court term ends June 23. The lawsuit, a dispute over $2.5 billion in punitive damages, is the final legal case remaining from the March 1989 spill of 11 million gallons of crude oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound.

Danny
Communications Director

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

It appears from reports of the numbers of signatures collected that there will be a ballot initiative coincident with the presidential election in November to place in the Califonria Constitution a ban on same sex marriages and to overrule the California Supreme Court decision that has made front page nationwide news in the last week. If the numbers of comments—over 3100 as of last count—made to the Los Angeles Times article, “Californians narrowly reject gay marriage: Voters also back a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex unions, a new Times/KTLA survey shows” is any indication, this will be a much talked about issue. There already are pledges by those on both sides of the electoral fight that will take place on a ballot initiative to spend multiple millions of dollars on a major effort.

The Los Angeles Times/KTLA poll is the first of what will be many to come on how Californians think about this issue—and by the time the election rolls around, we will have been polled, spun, and motivated to vote one way or the other on this issue. The California Field Poll has two questions on this issue and will be releasing findings later this month.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

The landmark California Supreme Court decision on marriage is a teachable moment for us to understand the role of the courts and their place along side the other branches of government and even the “will of the people” as expressed in ballot initiatives.

The rule of law in our society and the can easily get obscured in the often heated discussions and the frame that the right wing likes to use whenever they do not like a decision—by accusing courts of legislating.

And it comes from folks who should know better but without thinking have to put it in the old frame. The best example comes from Robert Villines, the leader of the Republicans in the legislature. From the Sacramento Bee, we read Villines reacting to the Court’s decision with this zinger:

“I am very disappointed that the California Supreme Court, by the narrowest of margins, would allow their own personal partisan views to get in the way of their duty to uphold the rule of law by thwarting the will of the overwhelming majority of Californians who voted in support of Proposition 22.

by Joe52 [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Mike Lumpkin, retired Navy SEAL and candidate for the 52nd Congressional District, released the following press release this morning regarding yesterday's California Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage.

Yesterday the California Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage igniting a storm of divisive partisan reaction across the nation. Retired Navy SEAL Commander and 52nd Congressional District Candidate, Mike Lumpkin, sees the decision and subsequent reaction as an unfortunate yet expected diversion. "Election after election extremists drive this emotionally polarizing issue and marginalize the concerns of everyday Americans," said Lumpkin.