Brody's Notes... Stonewall Democrats Applaud Prop 8 Decision

Linsey Pecikonis is National Communications Director for the Stonewall Democrats

By Linsey Pecikonis (Washington DC) AUG 4 | Proposition 8, which banned marriage equality in California, was overturned today by the US District Court of Northern California. National Stonewall Democrats applauds the decision by Judge Walker which stated that “…(A)nimus towards gays and lesbians or simply a belief that a relationship between a man and a woman is inherently better than a relationship between two men or two women… is not a proper basis on which to legislate.”  The ruling also went on to say that “ rather than being different, same-sex and opposite-sex unions are, for all purposes relevant to California law, exactly the same."

 “Religion-based bigotry should never outweigh constitutionally-based guarantees of equal protection, especially when thousands of California families are at risk,” said National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Michael Mitchell.  “Judge Walker unequivocally affirmed that the freedom to marry is a fundamental right protected under the Constitution and that it includes lesbian and gay couples. It’s a great day for same-sex couples, and it’s a great day for all Americans who value equality under the law.”

“As the case inevitably finds its way to the US Supreme Court, I am reminded of the 2000 campaign when it was commonly held that the two candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush, were virtually indistinguishable. Imagine what a different world we’d be living in if this case were going to ultimately land in the laps of a Court that was headed by a Gore appointee instead of Chief Justice John Roberts. Elections matter, whether it’s the razor thin elections that resulted in two terms for George W. Bush, the election that gave us the spiteful Prop. 8, or the one this November that could hand over Congress to Republican control.  Republicans will certainly turn back every gain that LGBT Americans have seen under the Obama Administration”