Civil Rights -- Save Marriage Equality

October 20, 2008

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, and Ryan Powers

CIVIL RIGHTS

Save Marriage Equality

The past few months have witnessed notable successes in the civil rights struggle for marriage equality. Earlier this month, Connecticut's Supreme Court struck down the state's civil unions law, ruling that same-sex couples have the right to marry beginning on Oct. 28. "Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same-sex partner of their choice," Justice Richard Palmer wrote for the majority. "To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others." Last month, New York's Supreme Court dismissed right-wing challenges to a directive by Gov. David Paterson (D) "that all state agencies recognize same-sex marriages performed outside New York." Supporters of marriage equality are trying to keep up this progress in California, but are locked in a heated struggle with right-wing activists in California over Prop. 8, a ballot proposal to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage. LGBT activist and Atlantic writer Andrew Sullivan has called defeating the referendum "the most important in the history of our civil rights struggle." Help progress on marriage equality by supporting the No on 8 movement here. The Center for American Progress has also put together A Progressive California Voter Guide with information on all the state's ballot measures.

FIRST STEPS: In May, California's Supreme Court overturned the state's ban on gay marriage, making the state the second in the country with marriage equality. The court found that "an individual's sexual orientation -- like a person's race or gender -- does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights." Even before the Court reached this ruling, right-wing organizations were planning to go around the judiciary and get a gay marriage ban on the November ballot. However, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) -- breaking with his preferred presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who supports the ban -- immediately put out a statement saying that he was against any constitutional ban: "I respect the Court's decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling." Many supporters were hopeful that California would push the nation in a more progressive direction LGBT issues. Schwarzenegger, along with the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that they were confident that the ruling would boost the state's economy. In August, the California Supreme Court also "barred doctors from invoking their religious beliefs as a reason to deny treatment to gays and lesbians, ruling that state law prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination extends to the medical profession."

STOP PROP. 8: Prop. 8 has a very real chance of passing. A recent internal poll from the No on 8 campaign found that 47 percent of California voters support Prop. 8, while 43 percent oppose it. According to the newest financial data submitted by the two sides, "ProtectMarriage.com, which wants to ban same-sex marriage, had raised $25.4 million through Sept. 30, compared with $15.8 million for Equality California (noonprop8.com)." However, since Oct. 6, No on 8 has had a 9-to-1 edge in contributions. Approximately 40 percent of the money raised for the marriage ban since July has come from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, has also donated more than $1 million. With time running out, however, No on 8 supporters have become more active. Last week, the California Teachers Association (CTA) donated $1 million to defeat the same-sex marriage ban. "For us, it's a civil rights issue," said CTA President David Sanchez. "We don't believe people should be treated differently." Ellen DeGeneres, who recently married her partner, actress Portia deRossi, has bought $100,000 of television airtime to urge Californians to save marriage equality. Other high-profile opponents of Prop. 8 include Google -- which took the unusual step of coming out against the measure because of its "chilling and discriminatory effect" -- and Vice President Cheney's daughter, Mary Cheney.

RIGHT-WING SCARE TACTICS: Supporters of the marriage ban have been increasing their misleading ads and scare tactics in recent weeks. The most recent round of TV and radio ads warn that if voters don't approve Prop. 8, "Churches could lose their tax exemption," and "gay marriage taught in public schools." Both of these claims are lies. "No church is at any risk of losing its tax-exempt status if it refuses to perform same-sex weddings," said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at the University of California-Irvine. Even the manager for the Yes on 8 campaign has admitted that a chuch "would be very likely permitted to refuse to perform a gay wedding in the church with no risk to their tax exemption." To support the claim that young children will be learning about gay marriage in public schools, Yes on 8 supporters point to a Massachusetts case in which parents sued a school when their children came home with a book concluding that families with two mothers were "just fine." Massachusetts Superior Court judge Timothy Frawley ruled against the parents, but stated, "Current state law does not require school districts to teach anything about marriage or same-sex marriage at any grade level."

RADICAL RIGHT -- BACHMANN CALLS FOR McCARTHYITE INVESTIGATION INTO ANTI-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES OF LIBERALS: Appearing on MSNBC's Hardball on Friday afternoon, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) called for a McCarthyite investigation into Congress to see which members are "anti-America." She said she was "absolutely" concerned that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) "may have anti-American views." She declared, "The news media should do a penetrating penetrating exposé" into the "views of the people in Congress and find out if they're pro-America or anti-America." Reaction to her comments was explosive. On Sunday morning, former Secretary of State Colin Powell explicitly denounced her comments as an example of his dissatisfaction with the tone of conservative campaigns. "We've got to stop this kind of nonsense and pull ourselves together and remember that our great strength is in our unity and in our diversity," Powell said, explaining that her comments were an example of what was "driving" him to endorse Obama. But Bachmann on Sunday tried to claim she had been misunderstood. "I'm not saying [Obama's] views are anti-American. That was a misreading of what I said. And so I don’t believe that's my position," she told a local Minneapolis CBS affiliate. Since Friday, more than 45,000 people have signed a petition calling on Congress to censure Bachmann. Add your name here.

MEDIA -- FOX NEWS HIRES DISGRACED NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER JUDITH MILLER: Today, the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz reveals that Fox News has hired former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who will write stories for Fox's website and be an on-air analyst. "She has a very impressive resume," Fox News Senior Vice President John Moody. Moody added that he wasn't concerned about Miller's faulty pre-war reporting, saying, "We've all had stories that didn't come out exactly as we had hoped" and "she has explained herself and she has nothing to apologize for." But Miller had more problems than her stories not turning out "exactly" as she had "hoped." In fact, she was a key player in pushing false intelligence that led the public to support the Iraq war, and she was central to the Valerie Plame leak scandal. For instance, On Sept. 7, 2002, she and fellow New York Times reporter Michael Gordon reported that Iraq had "stepped up its quest for nuclear weapons and has embarked on a worldwide hunt for materials to make an atomic bomb." As proof, she cited unnamed "American intelligence experts" and unnamed "Bush administration officials." Subsequently, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld all pointed to Miller's story as justification for war. On April 22, 2003, she told PBS's Newshour that WMD had already been found in Iraq: "Well, I think they found something more than a 'smoking gun.'" In 2005, Miller went to jail for refusing to testify in the Valerie Plame scandal and reveal her conversations with Scooter Libby. Libby told Miller that Plame worked at the CIA while Plame was still undercover.

ENVIRONMENT -- BUSH STANDS IDLY BY AS CALIFORNIA BURNS: Wildfires in Southern California over the last week "destroyed more than 50 homes and forced thousands of residents to flee." In addition, "at least two deaths have been confirmed, more than 10,000 acres have been scorched, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency." The total cost of the week's firefighting efforts amounted to more than $12 million. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) rightly recognized that this problem is only going to get worse with global warming: "As the climate warms and wildland fires become bigger and more intense, a rapid response is critical to prevent the spread of fires." Yet, as the San Jose Mercury News reports, "[T]he Bush administration has failed to outfit massive California Air National Guard cargo planes for firefighting duty despite pressure from the military and elected officials -- a delay that could have grave implications as the state confronts the worst of its wildfire season." In April, Schwarzenegger told Bush it "would be reckless" to not have these aircraft ready. In July, more that 1,700 wildfires burned across California, at a cost of greater than $200 million. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported last week, Bush has not only made fighting wildfires harder by his mismanagement of the National Guard, but also by his reckless inaction on global warming.

Ed Lazear, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said yesterday "that parts of the country probably already are experiencing a recession and it could take a few months before the clogged credit system starts working again." He "noted that national unemployment stands at 6.1 percent" but that some areas "have even higher rates of people out of work."

60 Minutes reported on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan last night. One soldier explained, "I thought it was gonna be a little bit quieter here. But we landed in a hornet's nest when we got here." Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schlosser said bluntly, "I need more resources, more soldiers, and more assets."

In a newly disclosed legal memo, the Bush administration claims sweeping authority to "bypass laws that forbid giving taxpayer money to religious groups that only hire staff members who share their faith." One legal expert called the administration's argument "a very big stretch."

A study released today shows that "California's energy-efficiency policies created nearly 1.5 million jobs from 1977 to 2007, while eliminating fewer than 25,000" and raising employee compensation in the state by $44.6 billion. A Center for American Progress study showed that investing $100 billion over two years in a Green Recovery program would create 2 million new jobs.

And finally: Speaking at a Seattle fundraiser last night, Sen Joe Biden (D-DE) expressed his love for musician Dave Matthews. "Dave Matthews, I want you to know, I've got more of your CDs, I've got more of the Dave Matthews Band than you could imagine since my kids were in college," Biden said. "One of the dangerous things to do is come out on-stage after some talent like Dave Matthews stops singing."

To encourage voting, Ben & Jerry's shops around the country will be offering a free scoop of ice cream to voters from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 4.

THINK PROGRESS:Fox News' Sean Hannity to Glenn Beck: "You're a perfect fit" for Fox News.

WONK ROOM: Albright: The "no date certain" two-step.

YGLESIAS: The synthetic states of America.

DAILY KOS: CNN fact-check: "This is looking like a fraud committed against ACORN."

FLORIDA: Early voting has begun in Florida.

ENVIRONMENT: "The Interior Department is poised to issue a final rule that will make it easier for mountaintop mining companies to dump their waste near rivers and streams."

ECONOMY: Twenty-two states, including California, now are confronting growing budget gaps.

"[T]he more that Iraqis have gotten to know Americans...the better they've felt about the United States of America."
-- Vice President Cheney, 3/18/08

VERSUS

"Key members of the Iraqi parliament's largest political bloc have called for all American troops to leave this country in 2011 as a condition for allowing the U.S. military to stay here beyond year's end."
-- Washington Post, 10/20/08

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