Out of nowhere, the CT supreme court came down with a "you can't say we can't get married- it's unconstitutional" 4-3 decision. It's not really out of nowhere... it's nearly two years in the waiting. But it is strange timing.
While the Californians are trying to vote down Proposition 8, we might have our own constitutional crisis on our hands. Unlike MA, where voters can petition to edit the state constitution by referendum, our CT state constitution is only opened up every 20 year. That is, every 20 years on election day, the citizens vote as to whether or not they want to ratify the constitution. And, you guessed it, this is that year... So the only thing that can keep the gays from legal marriage at this point is a constitutional ammendment defining marriage as "only one penis and one vagina". If the ruling from the CT supreme court had come down after election day, there would be no chance for a discriminatory constitutional ammendment for another 20 years. But I guess it is good. Maybe there are no coincidences. I really thought CT was poised to be the first state of the union to enact MARRIAGE EQUALITY without a judicial ruling. We are very close to having a legislative body that would have passed it... and then we could do without all the "activist judges" blahblahblahing from the right.
At least with this constitutional process, there will be voter involvement. I don't think there are enough CT residents who want to overturn this ruling to vote to initiate the constitutional convention. I might be wrong, but if that's true, then the question is in essence put to the voters. Let me be clear, it is INSANE for a rational person to think that the rights of a minority population should be put to popular vote, but in this case, I think we have the votes and that's a pretty good precedent to set too.
For those who aren't into this stuff, let me essplain.. no time to essplain, let me sum up:
- the ct supreme court said, "civil unions aren't enough... gay folks should be allowed to be MARRIED"
- Now the lower court has to set a date for this to happen and the CT legislature has to make some laws for about HOW this will happen. (will civil unions just become marriages? Will CU be null and void? Will you have to pay for a marriage license and get married if you were civil unioned before? etc.)
- When the eyes are dotted and tees are crossed legally, ss couples in CT will be allowed to get married and call themselves married in the state
- No church will be forced to marry any couple- churches decide who can get married in their parish community
- The rights we receive by the state of CT as a married couple will not be extended to federal benefits until the Defense of Marriage Act is struck down. (F)
- DOMA is a FEDERAL LAW that says, "even if your state recognizes you as a married couple, the federal government does not unless one participant has a penis and one participant has a vagina." (so we're not really leaving it up to the states are we?)
- In other words, if Katy and I were to get married, we would not have access to each other's social security benefits, we would not have access to medical benefits if either of us become a member of congress or other branch of the federal government (it could happen!), we get taxed on medical benefits that one provides to the other, we have to file taxes separately (pretending to be two separate entities even as we are a single family unit on our state taxes and all our property is jointly owned and we have a son who we both parent... together... who should claim him as a dependent this year?)
- If we leave our state no state has to treat us as married. They don't have to because of the penis/vagina thing. I am not particularly jonesin' to go to Alabama, but rest assured, there is a law there on the books that specifically says: "I don't give a pale turd what your liberal, punk-assed state thinks you're entitled to... down here, we'll call dykes if you pass us on the street but we'll only call you "friends" if you're in a hospital waiting room. 'Cause believe you-me, "friends" don't have a right to shit during an emergency" (I swear, it says that right in the constitutional ammendment.)
Anyway, like I said on Fox 61 that time, "It's a great day."
By the way, Katy was on NPR in NY this morning having been interviewed by a radio person yesterday about the decision.
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