Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 42, Ed. 1 Friday, March 6, 2009 Page: 4 of 60
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reakingnews
California Supreme Court hears Prop 8 arguments
Decision to be announced within
90 days; status of more than
18,000 marriages to be decided
By Lisa Keen Keen News Service
Thousands of people gathered outside the
state supreme court building in San Francisco
Thursday, March 5, while inside, the court heard
three hours of arguments on whether it should
overturn Proposition 8, a constitutional amend-
ment passed last November to ban gay mar-
riage.
It's expected to be a close call.
The key legal dispute before the court is
whether Proposition 8 simply amended the
state constitution or whether it significantly
revised it. If the initiative amended the constitu-
tion, then it stands. But if the initiative revised
the constitution, then it was improperly present-
ed to voters and should, instead, have been
approved by a two-thirds majority of the legis-
lature.
Attorneys seeking to strike Prop 8 argued the
latter.
"This is the first time an initiative has been
used to take away a fundamental right from a
suspect class," said Ray Marshall, a California
NAACP attorney representing organizations
that had filed briefs asking the court to strike
down the amendment.
But the seven justices — of which six are
Republican appointees — seemed skeptical and
had harsh questions for the attorneys opposing
Prop 8.
Associate Justice Joyce Kennard suggested
the rights of gays in this instance are "similar to
a group of criminal defendants" in California's
death penalty history. Although the California
Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that the death
penalty was unconstitutional, the voters, by ini-
tiative in 1977, instituted an even broader death
penalty law.
"It would appear to me that life — at least in
my view — is a fundamental right and yet the
people ... restoring the death penalty was not
considered a revision," said Kennard.
But Marshall countered by saying the death
penalty was not reinstated for use against only
one segment of criminal defendants, such as
blacks, but against all criminal defendants in
death penalty cases.
And San Francisco's Chief Deputy City
Attorney Therese Stewart said giving more
weight to the people's right to pass an initiative
when fundamental rights are at stake Is like
"protecting the moat while allowing the castle
to burn down."
An awkward moment for pro-gay attorneys
came during the arguments of Christopher
Krueger, who was representing the California
Attorney General's office. Attorney General
Jerry Brown supports equal marriage rights and
has said he believes Prop. 8 is unconstitutional.
But Krueger was questioned heavily about
Brown's position that Prop 8 is not a revision,
but is still unconstituional.
"On which side are you?" asked Justice
Kennard, bluntly, before Krueger had a chance
to even begin his argument. Krueger acknowl-
edged that he considered himself on the side of
those challenging Proposition 8. And he tried to
make the point that Proposition 8 is an
"unprecedented kind of amendment" — that it
took away a fundamental right without a com-
pelling need to do so.
Kennard seemed to dismiss the argument as
a "novel theory" and then the justices became
mired in a discussion of what constitutes an
"inalienable right" — something Krueger
seemed to struggle with, too.
Kenneth Stan- — best known as the inde-
pendent counsel who investigated President
Clinton's statements concerning an alleged
affair with intern Monica Lewinsky — repre-
sented those interested in preserving
Proposition 8. His point was simple: The voters
have spoken. "Rights are important," said Starr,
"but they don't go to structure [of government],
.. .Rights are ultimately defined by the people."
A second key issue in the case is what hap-
pens to the validity of the 18,000 or more mar-
riage licenses issued to same-sex couples in
California between June and November of last
year, before Proposition 8 was passed and went
See PROP 8 on PAGE 8
dossier
Penn lobbies for Milk Day
On Tuesday, Sean Penn, who won an
Oscar for playing gay rights hero
Harvey Milk, said he was confident
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign a bill
officially recognizing Milk's birthday in
California even though he vetoed it last year.
Appearing at a news conference with the bill's
author, state Sen. Mark Leno, Penn said he did
not want to insult the intelligence of a fellow
actor by expecting Schwarzenegger to veto the
measure again.
"I would never assume such ignorance as
for him to not have revised his [position],"
Penn said. "I have too much respect for him to
be able to do that."
Leno's bill would require Schwarzenegger
to establish May 22 of each year as a "day of
significance." Unlike an official holiday, Harvey
Milk Day would not give state workers the day
off, but schools would be encouraged to con-
duct lessons on the late San Francisco supervi-
sor's life and legacy.
Milk, one of the nation's first openly gay
elected officials, was an outspoken gay rights
advocate. He was assassinated along with
Mayor George Moscone by another city super-
visor in 1978.
After last year's measure passed both hous-
es of the Legislature, conservative groups lob-
bied Schwarzenegger to veto it, saying they
objected to having gay issues taught in schools.
In his September veto message, the governor
said he thought Milk's "contributions should
continue to be recognized at the local level by
those who were most impacted by his contribu-
tions."
Schwarzenegger has not yet taken a position
on the revived legislation. Leno also stressed
that the measure would not require schools to
commemorate Milk, but said opposition from
parents should not dissuade schools from tack-
ling the subject of Milk's contributions.
RESOURCEFULBERNHARD
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On Feb. 21, queer comedian Sandra Bernhard performed at The Rose Room as part of Carnivale 4, Caven Enterprises'
annual Mardi Gras party. The event benefited AIDS Arms and the Resource Center of Dallas, which will each receive a
$2,000 donation. Pictured are, from left, Adam King with the Resource Center of Dallas, Carol McClung of Caven Enterprises,
Sandra Bernhard, Ben Polacheck of Caven, Alexis Ross with Ben E. Keith and Henry Ramirez of the Resource Center.
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tframa . . #
*1
or not enough?
Kent Cochran, eud, lpc, cht
Psychotherapy | Coaching | Hypnotherapy
Flexible & Unusual Hours: afternoons and evenings until 11pm
Turtle Creek Office | Call for an appointment 214.675.7447
4 I dallasvoice.com I 03.06.09
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Nash, Tammye. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 42, Ed. 1 Friday, March 6, 2009, newspaper, March 6, 2009; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth239054/m1/4/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.