{"id":100,"date":"2008-12-02T17:36:46","date_gmt":"2008-12-02T17:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/12\/proposition-8-pernicious-and-p.html"},"modified":"2008-12-02T17:36:46","modified_gmt":"2008-12-02T17:36:46","slug":"proposition-8-pernicious-and-p","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/12\/proposition-8-pernicious-and-p.html","title":{"rendered":"PROPOSITION 8: Pernicious and Perhaps Gone"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\u00a0I have been in the San Francisco area for several days.\u00a0 <\/span>My trip coincided with the thirtieth
\nanniversary of the assassination of Harvey Milk<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>The atmosphere would have been somber simply about that, but
\nit was poisoned even more by the passage of Proposition 8<\/a>, the reprehensible “amendment” to
\nthe California constitution that sought to prohibit same-sex marriages.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Religious Right was the overwhelming reason that this
\npernicious proposition gained its narrow majority.\u00a0 <\/span>The only real argument raised was that same-sex marriage was
\nincompatible with Bible teachings.\u00a0
\n<\/span>Although made with differing levels of overt homophobia and distaste,
\nthe claim was uttered by Charles Colson ( who claimed failure to pass it would
\nbe “apocalyptic”), Rick Warren ( absurdly characterized by the media as a”new evangelical”) and, well, even Fred Phelps.\u00a0
\n<\/span>These literalist-when-it-suits-them stalwarts have used any opportunities over the years to create a Scriptural
\njustification for viewing the gay and lesbian communities as immoral.\u00a0 <\/span>They should never have been allowed to get away with claiming to have clean
\nhands when their justifications helped lead others to acts of violence.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course we don’t know the stories of
\nmost of these victims as well as we know those of Milk, Brandon Teena and
\nMatthew Shepherd.\u00a0 <\/span>The absence of a
\nfeature film, however, doesn’t make the pain any less for those who have shared
\nit in real life.<\/p>\n

\u00a0People in California have already done many of the right
\nthings to try to deal with Proposition 8. Several lawsuits<\/a> have been filed to
\noverturn the measure as an illegal “revision” of the Constitution by majority
\nrule.\u00a0 <\/span>Revisions are major changes
\nin the document that require action by a two-third vote of the
\nlegislature.\u00a0 <\/span>The Proposition 8
\nbackers contend that since the change is only one sentence, the measure was a
\nsimple “amendment” which can be accomplished through initiative.\u00a0 <\/span>This bean counting approach is
\nludicrous.\u00a0 <\/span>“Slavery will be
\npermissible” is even shorter; but would anyone seriously contend that the state
\nof California could pass that by 50 percent plus one of the voters concurring?
\nHere, the California constitution has been interpreted by its Supreme Court<\/a> to
\nrequire civil marriage for same sex couples based on twin core principles:
\nequal protection of the law and the fundamental nature of the right to marry.
\nTwo central values cannot be curtailed by majority vote whether the change is
\nattempted by one or 1000 sentences.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>It looks like oral arguments before the California Supreme Court will
\noccur in the spring. With any luck that will put an end to this mischief.<\/p>\n

\u00a0But is there even more to do, Jay?\u00a0 <\/span>I’d like your reaction to these lawsuit and then perhaps we
\ncan look at some other ideas up folks’ sleeves.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0I have been in the San Francisco area for several days.\u00a0 My trip coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of Harvey Milk.\u00a0 The atmosphere would have been somber simply about that, but it was poisoned even more by the passage of Proposition 8, the reprehensible “amendment” to the California constitution that sought to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courts","category-gay-marriage"],"yoast_head":"\nPROPOSITION 8: Pernicious and Perhaps Gone - Lynn v. Sekulow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/12\/proposition-8-pernicious-and-p.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PROPOSITION 8: Pernicious and Perhaps Gone - Lynn v. 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Lynn is a regular guest on nationally broadcast radio programs, including National Public Radio's \"All Things Considered,\" \"Morning Edition\" and \"Talk of the Nation,\" as well as having appeared on national networks such as CBS Radio, CNN Radio, ABC Radio and AP Radio. Lynn began his professional career working at the national office of the United Church of Christ, including a two-year stint as legislative counsel for the Church's Office of Church in Society in Washington, D.C. From 1984 to 1991 he was legislative counsel for the Washington office of the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2006, Lynn authored Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault On Religious Freedom (Harmony Books). In 2008 he coauthored (with C. Welton Gaddy) First Freedom First: A Citizen's Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State (Beacon Press). Lynn writes frequently on religious liberty issues, and has had essays published in outlets such as USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Nation. Lynn also has op-eds published frequently by the McClatchy and Scripps-Howard newspaper chains. A member of the Washington, D.C. and U.S. Supreme Court bar, Lynn earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978. In addition, he received his theology degree from Boston University School of Theology in 1973. 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