Tuesday, May 20, 2014

And the Judges said:

Two federal judges in two different districts on two days this week have overturned anti-marriage laws as unconstitutional.

In Oregon:
Where will this all lead? I know that many suggest we are going down a slippery slope that will have no moral boundaries. To those who truly harbor such fears, I can only say this: Let us look less to the sky to see what might fall; rather, let us look to each other … and rise. 
– Federal District Judge Michael McShane, striking down Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage.
In Pennsylvania:
The issue we resolve today is a divisive one. Some of our citizens are made deeply uncomfortable by the notion of same-sex marriage. However, that same-sex marriage causes discomfort in some does not make its prohibition constitutional. Nor can past tradition trump the bedrock constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection. Were that not so, ours would still bea racially segregated nation according to the now rightfully discarded doctrine of “separate but equal.” … In the sixty years since Brown was decided, “separate” has thankfully faded into history, and only “equal” remains.” Similarly, in future generations the labelsame-sex marriage will be abandoned, to be replaced simply by marriage. 
We are a better people than these laws represent, and it is time to discard them into the ash heap of history.
– Federal District Judge John E. Jones III, in striking down Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage.

1 comment:

JCF said...

TBTG! :-D

As I have lived in both of these states, their entering the bright sunshine of equality means a lot to me (Now, let's get marriage equality in Michigan, too...and all 50!)