Well I celebrated all of last night into this morning and there have been celebrations across the US. Yesterday was a landmark ruling that I am confident will lead to nationwide marriage equality within a couple years. My full confidence has always been with the courts and they did came through once again for equality and justice for all.
Below is Rachel Maddow’s interview with the plaintiff attorneys, Olson and Boies. They discuss Walker’s decision and how his meticulous, 136-page ruling will make it virtually impossible to overturn on appeal (that is, the 9th Circuit and SCOTUS will rule in favor of equal rights as well). They also discuss the other Federal decision coming out of Boston in which a Federal judge recently ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. This case is also expected to go to the SCOTUS and result in another ruling in our favor, for nationwide marriage equality.
I have to say that during our little Question 1 campaign here in Maine, it was awful to see my civil rights being voted on by the public. The commercials were so hurtful, the Catholic Diocese giving millions to TV ads telling Mainers that gay sex would be forced upon elementary school children if marriage equality was legalized. The rights of the minority should never be voted on by the majority. Even FDR said,
“The moment a mere numerical superiority by either states or voters in this country proceeds to ignore the needs and desires of the minority, and for their own selfish purpose or advancement, hamper or oppress that minority, or debar them in any way from equal privileges and equal rights — that moment will mark the failure of our constitutional system.”
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Right now I’m fighting my own battle concerning the State of Maine and my Constitutional rights, among others, but I’m not at liberty to discuss it at this time. Some of you are familiar with it. It’s gone on for far too long now, but time has been my friend, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I strongly believe the truth is coming, and with it, justice – for me and many Mainers in the Mid-Coast region. I wish I could talk more about it, but it will have to wait for now, hopefully not much longer. I’ve had to be extremely patient in the past few years, often spending more time on legal research, court hearings, and attorney meetings than I could devote even to my own schoolwork. The wheels of justice move ever so slowly, but I am on the winning side, the side of truth – and it will be worth it, it is already worth it. Yesterday’s ruling has further inspired my confidence in our justice system, our ability to appeal wrongs and redress grievances, particularly those that involve egregious misconduct and dire acts of discrimination and prejudice in direct violation of our Constitutional rights, including Equal Protection and Due Process.
It is almost uncanny that the tremendous Federal cases concerning marriage equality would come at about now. I feel both sad and humbled, perhaps even grateful, to be alive to see this day, to be a proud gay man in America at a time when my full equality is finally being realized. I wish more individuals in my generation took more time to be well-informed and realize we are a part of history in the making. My heart goes out to individuals like Phyllis Lyon and her departed wife, Del Martin, founders of the Daughters of Bilitis, arguably the beginning of our movement for equal rights in America. I cried when I watched these ancient warriors say their “I do’s” before the State of California. Imagine that – an entire life, witness to an era when you could be arrested and beaten by police just for being gay, to seeing the manifestation of full marriage equality! The first same-sex couple to be wed in the Golden State, in fact. And rightly so – were it not for them, I could be jailed for being gay.
I encourage all of you to celebrate yesterday’s victory for equality and for the value of the US Constitution. Be informed citizens and be grateful for your civil rights – they are not always guaranteed, but it’s up to each of us to ensure our rights are respected by others and the State. We haven’t much longer to wait, in any case.