In a democracy such as ours, the judicial branch is uniquely charged with protecting the rights of the minority from the tyranny of the majority. This, it seems to me, is at the heart of both same-sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court. In the Prop 8 case, the justices are weighing whether 51 percent of California’s voters (note, it is NOT 51 percent of California’s population) can reverse a right bestowed upon a minority. In the DOMA case, the justices are weighing whether the legislative branch can pass a federal law that refuses to recognize the legitimate laws in a handful of states. In both instances, a minority is in need of intervention by an independent arbiter (the judicial branch) to protect it from the majority. If this is judicial activism, then it is as it was envisioned to be.
Category: Politics
Much has been said, written and blogged about the two same-sex marriage cases up for argument before the Supreme Court tomorrow and Wednesday. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, for Cliff and me it has been about the fundamental American value of fairness. We have always believed that, as American citizens, we deserve the same equal protections enshrined in our Constitution with the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.
The amendment’s equal protection clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its jurisdiction. The meaning of the clause, according to its principal author, John Bingham, was that it conferred upon Congress the power to ensure that the “protection given by the laws of the States shall be equal in respect to life and liberty and property to all persons.” That’s all that same-sex couples like Cliff and I are asking: that we be treated equally under the law. Our marriage, although it took place in Vancouver, BC, is nonetheless recognized by a handful of states and jurisdictions but not by others. Is it too much to ask that we be treated equally throughout the land, that our lawful marriage be recognized and that its benefits be conferred. Equality is not a special right. It’s an American value.
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