SCOTUS vs. Same-Sex Marriage

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in his footnote to the decision overturning abortion access nationwide, wrote that the court should “reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents” including:

Griswold [granted the right to contraception]
Lawrence [struck down anti-sodomy laws]
Obergefell [legalized marriage equality].

“We have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents,” Thomas wrote.

If the court overturns Obergefell, it would essentially leave individual states to decide their own same-sex marriage laws.

Nearly 30 states have same-sex marriage bans on their books.

The Respect for Marriage Act now working its way through Congress would officially repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 law that forbade the federal government from legally recognizing same-sex marriages.

It would require the federal and state governments to recognize same-sex marriages as long as they occurred in states that offer them. It would also allow spouses to sue states that refuse to recognize such marriages.

David Cicilline, Chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, said. “This legislation will protect their marriages and ensure they continue to be recognized, even if a future Supreme Court overturns landmark marriage equality decisions.”

Within days of the measure’s passage in the House in mid-July with the support of 47 Republicans, 83 conservative organizations wrote Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), claiming that the bill would legalize polygamy and incest.

The bill needs the votes of 10 Republican Senators to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a guaranteed filibuster and become law.

Thus far, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have said that they would vote in favor of the bill, but mainstream Republicans have already begun equating public recognition of LGBTQ people with “grooming” children for pedophilia.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who initially said that he would “not oppose” the bill, has since changed his mind. “This is just Democrats opening up a wound that doesn’t need to be opened up. And now that I’ve talked to people there are some very serious concerns on religious liberty…. I would not support it in its current state.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has said on his podcast that he will oppose the bill. “This bill without a religious liberty protection would have massive consequences across our country, weaponizing the Biden administration to go and target universities, K-12 schools, social service organizations, churches and strip them all of their tax-exempt status.”

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) has also said he’ll oppose the bill, stating, “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised that the Senate will vote on the measure before the November elections.

September 12, 2022 0

Forced birth & adoption

Abortion ban supporters are touting that adoption will deal with the consequences of ‘forced birth’, but the claim rings hollow in the harsh light of the facts.

While it is true that up to 30% of Evangelical Christians may have an adopted child in their families (U.S. average is 2%)….

…there remain over 400,000 children in foster care hoping for adoption, and the number is rising each year. Their chances are nothing but discouraging.

Fewer than 1 in 5 children in foster care are ever adopted.

A white child is 40% more likely to be adopted than a black child.

On average, a child in foster care waits 4 years for an adoption, so it is unsurprising that the average child spends only 17 months in foster care before turning 18, and unadopted children fare significantly worse than others as adults on almost every significant dimension.

In addition, more than 400,000 more children are taken into custody by Child Protective Services each year.

The paradox is that despite this staggering level of need, only 2 in 5 adoptions originate from foster care. Some 2 in 5 are completed through private agencies, and 1 in 4 adopts from outside the U.S.

One in four adoptions are actually of children born outside the U.S.

It’s worth noting that some of the Private and International adoptions are driven by laws in 11 U.S. states which allow adoption agencies to refuse service to LBGTQ applicants.

As the human race approaches the absolute limit of the planet to support it, the legislation of forced births appears as nothing less than a self-delusional exercise in self-destruction.

July 29, 2022 1

Unequal under the law (LBGTQ)

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), stalled in Congress since its introduction in 2013, prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It’s a sobering departure from previous civil rights bills in that it fails to address discrimination not only in employment… but in all spheres of public life.

It’s a sobering departure from previous civil rights bills in that it fails to address discrimination not only in employment… but in all spheres of public life.

While some state and local laws offer some of these protections, the lack of a comprehensive federal law allows for a patchwork of protections – and in some cases an endorsement of overt discrimination.

This analysis produced by the Movement Advance Project shows why Federal legislation is essential.

And a doctor in Indiana can deny service to a patient based on gender identity.

A landlord in West Virginia can decline to show a property to a lesbian couple.

A restaurant owner in El Paso, Texas can kick a gay couple out of his establishment simply because the couple shared a kiss with one another.

Legislation against employment discrimination may be a start, but it falls far sort of what’s needed to insure true equality for all Americans regardless of gender orientation.