California Judge Strikes Down Ban on Gay Marriage

The ruling by Vaughn R. Walker, the chief judge of the Federal District Court in San Francisco, that Proposition 8, banning gay marriage, is illegal is having reverberations around the nation.  Appealed immediately, of course, the ruling is destined to go all the way to the Supreme Court, which means that the highest law of the land and every citizen of the land will be involved.  Those who previously were looking on from the sidelines can do so no longer.  This is as it should be, for the kind of discrimination LGBT folks have experienced should be lifted up and looked at in the clear light of reason, for once and for all. 

Some of the excerpts from Judge Walker’s decision (NY Times 8/5/10) are telling.  He wrote:

“Proposition 8 cannot withstand any level of scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.  Excluding same-sex couples from marriage is simply not rationally related to a legitimate state interest.”

“Proposition 8 was premised on the belief that same-sex couples simply are not as good as opposite-sex couples.  . . . . this belief is not a proper basis on which to legislate.  The Constitution cannot control private biases, but neither can it tolerate them . . . .”

“Tradition alone . . . cannot form the rational basis for a law.”  (italics mine)

Consider all of the various ways that “tradition” would continue to oppress huge classes of people, had not the law intervened, backed by years of protest, and often written in blood:  slavery, child labor, denial of property rights for women and people of color; denial of the right to vote; denial of due process. 

Tradition is simply patterns of behavior which have evolved.  Some of these patterns are useful and nurturing of person and of community: holidays and holy days, birthday parties, memorial services, the 4th of July, for example.  Others tie us to our ancestors in ways that remind us where we came from, or what we believe: we may go to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, or fast on Yom Kippur; we may have a special dinner every Thanksgiving, or go hunting for deer as soon as the season opens. 

But some traditions divide, some say, “We’re different, and we’re better, and we deserve more.”  This attitude, Judge Walker reminds all of us, is not a rational basis for law–and is downright unAmerican.  May I remind us all of the following Declaration: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all <persons> are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

One of the finest ways of pursuing happiness is falling in love and choosing a life partner and declaring your love before all the world in a public ceremony called “marriage.”  It is a promise worth making, and a declaration most holy.  Why should it be denied to anyone who loves?

 

 

Free Screening of “Raw Faith” at Maitripa College

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to see our documentary, “Raw Faith,” the film will be shown this Thursday, August 5, at 7:00 p.m. at Maitripa College, 1119 SE Market St., here in Portland.  I will be present for a Q&A after the screening.  The screening will be in the Meditation Hall and will be preceded by a social hour from 6:00-7:00.  The event is free and open to the public.