The Prop 8 thing sucks. Big time. But, like election day, it’s such a mixed bag today. I was listening to Obama introduce Sotomayor this AM. I got all choked up listening to the story of this soon-to-be Supreme Court justice who grew up in a public housing project, with her mother sacrificing everything for her & her brother’s education. As I listened and cried a little, I was on my way to a Sit Stay Read rewards program where we give the kids cool stuff for reading all year. They are always so proud of themselves, and they should be. Sotomayor’s nomination and life story give me great hope for our kids, some of Chicago’s most disadvantaged.
So we move forward. One day Sotomayor will be in the Court that finally says that denying a gay and lesbian citizen the right to marry the one we love is unconstitutional. I again quote Tony Kushner, from the last scene of Angels in America, “We are not going away… The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come.”
Yes, on our air we had the Sotomayor nomination as the topic of discussion one hour and the court decision on Prop. 8 the next. Given the way oral arguments went, just about everyone who dared assume anything assumed the court would do what it did.
Interesting to see the Theodore Olson-David Boies challenge in federal court. To me, it seems like they’re cutting to the heart of the matter: either the 14th Amendment means something or it doesn’t; a simple majority of those who turn out for an election ought not to have the power to extinguish fundamental rights. Some anti-8 folks out here feel the federal suit is premature and that the ballot box ought to be given another try. Me, I say take the court route.