First Michigan, now Louisiana. Another state is declaring that a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. A Louisiana judge yesterday declared that a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions is unconstitutional. Three weeks ago, the amendment passed with 78 percent of the vote.
Unlike the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, which attempted to prevent the amendment from reaching voters at all, Louisiana Supreme Court allowed the amendment to be placed on the ballot before deciding whether or not it was constitutional. Yesterday, Judge William Morvant said the amendment violates the state constitution’s requirement that amendments only address one issue.
“Morvant, a Republican, said the amendment is flawed because, while the state constitution prevents a law or constitutional amendment from having more than one purpose or objective, it contains two ‘objects,'” writes the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The amendment forbids both marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples.
“The issue here is whether the issue was properly put to the voters,” Morvant said. “It is not about public support or public morality. It is about compliance with the constitution.”
Gay-rights groups are naturally encouraged by the decision, but the overwhelming support for the amendment will make it difficult to ultimately block the ban.
The Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins responded to the decision. “During my time in the Louisiana legislature, I worked on occasion with Judge Morvant. I am disappointed that he failed to recognize the right of the voters and the legislature to decide the fate of marriage in Louisiana.”
James Dobson also rejected the decision. “The will of the people of Louisiana could not be clearer—this amendment passed with the support of nearly 80 percent of the votes. Yet this judge saw fit to disenfranchise those voters in favor of a radical social agenda,” he said.
The decision may also have an impact in Georgia, says The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where a similar ban and a similar prohibition in the state constitution could stymie efforts for a Georgia marriage amendment. In that state, a poll registered that 69 percent of voters support the ban.
And now—polygamy
And now—polygamy The underlying issue, as 11 states try to pass same-sex marriage bans, is whether it is still possible to legislate traditional morality. According to Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington Law School, in USA Today, legislating morality is not only bad law, it’s hypocritical. Turley says our polygamy laws unfairly discriminate against those who marry more than one person at a time.
Weblog would like to remind readers that after the Supreme Court declared a Texas anti-sodomy law illegal, many conservatives asked aloud, What’s to stop us from allowing polygamy, then? According to Turley, nothing.
“Individuals have a recognized constitutional right to engage in any form of consensual sexual relationship with any number of partners,” says Turley. “Thus, a person can live with multiple partners and even sire children from different partners so long as they do not marry. However, when that same person accepts a legal commitment for those partners ‘as a spouse,’ we jail them.”
Without bothering to explain any faiths’ orthodox theology, Turley says many religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and native religions around the world, practice polygamy. “It cannot be seriously denied that polygamy is a legitimate religious belief.” Yet, despite the Constitution’s protection of free exercise of religion, it is outlawed. “In its 1878 opinion in Reynolds v. United States, the Court refused to recognize polygamy as a legitimate religious practice, dismissing it in racist and anti-Mormon terms as ‘almost exclusively a feature of the life of Asiatic and African people. … Most tellingly, the Court found that the practice is ‘contrary to the spirit of Christianity and of the civilization which Christianity has produced in the Western World.'”
All this brings us to Tom Green, who is appealing his Utah conviction for having multiple wives, including one he married when she was 13. Green argues that he is only “spiritually,” not legally, married to his four wives. He was recently denied in his appeal to the Utah Supreme Court and is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I personally detest polygamy,” Turley says. “Yet if we yield to our impulse and single out one hated minority, the First Amendment becomes little more than hype and we become little more than hypocrites.”
It’s scary to think that this guy could be teaching our future judges.
More articles:
Polygamy:
- Polygamy laws expose our own hypocrisy | Individuals have a recognized constitutional right to engage in any form of consensual sexual relationship with any number of partners. Thus, a person can live with multiple partners and even sire children from different partners so long as they do not marry. However, when that same person accepts a legal commitment for those partners “as a spouse,” we jail them. (Jonathan Turley, USA Today)
- One wife or two? A new Turkish divide | A recent poll in a Turkish newspaper included an eye-catching statistic. A substantial majority of the population — 63% — thought it perfectly acceptable for a man to have more than one wife. (Times, London)
Louisiana same-sex marriage ban:
- Judge throws out Louisiana gay marriage ban | A state judge Tuesday threw out a Louisiana constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, less than three weeks after it was overwhelmingly approved by the voters. (Associated Press)
- Baton Rouge court throws out gay-marriage ban | A state judge Tuesday threw out a Louisiana ban on same-sex marriage overwhelmingly approved by voters on Sept. 18, suggesting its drafters had overreached by making it too broad. (Associated Press)
- Same-sex marriage ban is nullified | Judge says one vote covered two issues (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
- Activists applaud, criticize gay marriage ban ruling | State District Judge William Morvant agreed, siding with Forum for Equality PAC, a New Orleans gay and lesbian rights group which made it clear that it wasn’t challenging the state’s right to ban same-sex marriages. (The Advocate, Louisiana)
Same-sex marriage bill before Canadian Supreme Court:
- Same-sex opponents gear up for Supreme Court tilt | The Supreme Court of Canada begins historic hearings on same-sex marriage tomorrow, the final lap in what one supporter called “a very long marathon.” (Canadian Press)
- Groups spar over same-sex marriage | Same-sex-marriage supporters and opponents squared off with two separate press conferences Tuesday, each making their case one last time before the issue goes to the Supreme Court of Canada. (Globe and Mail, Canada)
- Gay marriage interveners ready for SCOC hearings | Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage presented their cases in the court of public opinion a day before historic Supreme Court of Canada hearings on the issue begin. (CTV, Canada)
- Canada top court seen leaning toward gay marriage | Even before the Supreme Court begins weighing whether same-sex marriage must be allowed across Canada, advocates on opposite sides of the argument agreed on Tuesday that the judges would most likely say yes. (Reuters)
- Same-sex marriage foes brace for top court review of proposed law | Opponents of same-sex marriage are stating their case one last time before the issue goes to the Supreme Court of Canada. (Canadian Press)
- Opponents, supporters of same-sex marriage gear up for Canadian Supreme Court hearing
- Foes gear up for gay marriage debate | Both sides in the same-sex marriage debate claimed they were trying to protect personal freedoms and fight discrimination as they staked out their territory a day before key Supreme Court of Canada hearings. (CBC, Canada)
- Gay marriage interveners ready for SCOC hearings | Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage presented their cases in the court of public opinion a day before historic Supreme Court of Canada hearings on the issue begin. (CTV, Canada)
- Canada’s top court weighs gay marriage law | Canadian clergy are watching closely as the Supreme Court turns its attention at long last to the government’s proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. (Associated Press)
- Opponents, supporters of same-sex marriage gear up for Supreme Court hearing | The Supreme Court of Canada begins historic hearings on same-sex marriage Wednesday, the final lap in what one supporter called “a very long marathon.” (National Post, Canada)
- Supreme Court readies for gay marriage debate | A historic round of hearings gets underway this morning in the Supreme Court of Canada, as the high court hears arguments from both sides on the same-sex marriage debate. (CTV, Canada)
- Gay marriage law up to Canada’s top court | Canadian clergy are watching closely as the Supreme Court turns its attention at long last to the government’s proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. (Associated Press)
- Canada Supreme Court to hear arguments on same-sex marriage | Sixteen months after the Canadian cabinet approved a national policy to extend marriage rights to gays and lesbians, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday on whether Parliament should ratify the decision into law. (The New York Times)
- Canada top court seen leaning toward gay marriage | Even before the Supreme Court begins weighing whether same-sex marriage must be allowed across Canada, advocates on opposite sides of the argument agreed on Tuesday that the judges would most likely say yes. (Reuters)
Sudan:
- Blair urges end to Darfur killings | Prime Minister Tony Blair, in the Sudan capital Khartoum, has urged its government to end the slaughter that has cost thousands of lives in war-torn Darfur. (Guardian, UK)
- Get AU troops to Sudan now: Annan | The United Nations special representative for Darfur, Jan Pronk, has told the Security Council that there has been no improvement on security or ending impunity for either side in the conlflict in Sudan. (Special Broadcasting Service, Australia)
- Sudan calls out U.S. on genocide claim | Sudan’s U.N. ambassador challenged the United States to send troops to the Darfur region if it really believes a genocide is taking place as the U.S. Congress and President Bush’s administration have determined. (Associated Press)
- Blair to press Sudan government on Darfur | Prime Minister Tony Blair will pressure Sudan to end the conflict in Darfur when he visits the capital Khartoum on Wednesday, the first leg of a three-day trip to Africa. (Associated Press)
- Blair holds crisis talks in Sudan | Tony Blair has urged the Sudanese government to end the slaughter in the Darfur region and ease the humanitarian crisis which has cost 50,000 lives. (BBC)
- Blair: World will keep pressure on Sudan for peace | Britain’s Tony Blair warned Sudan on Wednesday the international community would not rest until violence was ended in Darfur and a comprehensive peace deal was struck across the whole country. (Reuters)
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