Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Prop 8 ruling - Medical Marijuana officially the only reason to live in CA anymore

MSD · 05-26-2009, 11:43 AM

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions...ts/S168047.PDF
At least the pre-Prop 8 marriages are still legal.

Constitutions are intended to protect minority groups from the tyranny of the majority. California has a system in place that allows their constitution to be modified by a simple majority vote, while my understanding is that removing amendments like the one Proposition 8 made requires a 3/4 majority vote in both the population and the legislature. This is fucked up and I expect to see a strong push for a constitutional convention in the next few years. Supreme courts have established it as not only their right, but their responsibility to protect the minority when the majority is against them. To treat this as a procedural issue when it violates equal protection is mind-boggling.

I was taught that "separate but equal" was a thing of the past, but my generation is seeing it unfold as one of the biggest issues of our time. Civil unions are not marriages - even if they're identical at a state level, hundreds of rights are denied at the federal level including little things like joint filing on taxes, the right to make medical decisions, and 5th amendment rights extended to your spouse. It's not a religious issue, it's a civil rights issue, and the government of California failed its constituents big time with this one.

05-26-2009, 11:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	Prop 8 ruling - Medical Marijuana officially the only reason to live in CA anymore http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions...ts/S168047.PDF At least the pre-Prop 8 marriages are still legal. Constitutions are intended to protect minority groups from the tyranny of the majority. California has a system in place that allows their constitution to be modified by a simple majority vote, while my understanding is that removing amendments like the one Proposition 8 made requires a 3/4 majority vote in both the population and the legislature. This is fucked up and I expect to see a strong push for a constitutional convention in the next few years. Supreme courts have established it as not only their right, but their responsibility to protect the minority when the majority is against them. To treat this as a procedural issue when it violates equal protection is mind-boggling. I was taught that "separate but equal" was a thing of the past, but my generation is seeing it unfold as one of the biggest issues of our time. Civil unions are not marriages - even if they're identical at a state level, hundreds of rights are denied at the federal level including little things like joint filing on taxes, the right to make medical decisions, and 5th amendment rights extended to your spouse. It's not a religious issue, it's a civil rights issue, and the government of California failed its constituents big time with this one.