California State Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Gay Marriage Ban

Dear ACLU Supporter,

Yesterday, Anthony Romero and I watched as the legal team assembled by the ACLU, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights
argued in the California Supreme Court that Proposition 8
-- the ballot initiative that stripped gay couples of the right to marry --
should be struck down.

The arguments that our lawyers helped craft and the decision that will be made by the court will impact millions of lives. And, believe me, the work that goes into a case like this would not be possible without the support of friends like you.

Our lawsuit says that Proposition 8 is an improper revision rather than an amendment of the California Constitution
because it eliminated a basic right, but just for one minority
-- a minority which has been a target for discrimination
again and again....

As true to our nation’s most cherished principles as that argument is,
I fear that the California Supreme Court may well prove unwilling to overrule the voters and will let Proposition 8 stand. If that is the case, you can be sure it will not be the end of the matter.

The ACLU’s job is to make the promises of the Constitution real for every American,
and we won’t rest until we have.
If Proposition 8 stands,
we’ll begin the process of repealing it.
We’ll do that even as we fight for recognition of same-sex relationships through marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships in New York, Illinois, New Mexico and other states.
We’ll do that even as we fight so that LGBT people can be parents in Arkansas and Florida and especially to give homes to children the rest of society has abandoned.
We’ll do that even as we fight for the right of LGBT students to be open and say what they think.
We’ll do that even as we fight for a federal law protecting LGBT people from job discrimination and hate crimes.
[....]





Sincerely,


Anthony Romero


Matt Coles
ACLU LGBT Project



© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004
[ national office]
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[ fwd by SUN and CALL: ]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveFreedom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nakity/
SUN, P.O.Box 426937-SUN, SF, CA 94142-6937
Toward aphroditic nakitopias!

I totally favor equal marriage rights;
and I despise Prop 8.

But, frankly,
I'm not much impressed
by our own legal argument --
that Prop 8 was
a "revision"
rather than
an "amendment"...

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