If you like the Constitution, hate Prop 8

[madmusic]

No matter what you think of gay marriage itself, Prop 8 is dangerous for many reasons. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, this danger is spelled out by the http://online.logcabin.org/news_views/reading-room-back-up/prop-8-amicus-brief.html">Log Cabin Republicans:

Log Cabin Republicans filed its amicus brief both to advocate for its members' rights and to raise legal arguments not raised in the Petitioners' briefs. For example, Log Cabin Republicans' brief demonstrates that the initiative amendment process cannot be used to strip rights from a minority because that process is constrained by other core constitutional protections of individual rights. Moreover, Proposition 8 necessarily entails a qualitative "revision" of the Constitution as it would imply repeal of the Constitution's privileges or immunities clause, which explicitly requires that a "citizen or class or citizens may not be granted privileges or immunities not granted on the same terms to all citizens."

"Proposition 8 alters or nullifies no less than six essential constitutional rights, including the privileges or immunities clause, the right to privacy, the right to intimate association, the right to pursue and obtain happiness, the fundamental right to marry and the equal protection clause," said Dan Woods, a partner at White & Case LLP which is representing Log Cabin Republicans on a pro bono basis in this matter. "So long as any Californian has the right to marry the individual of his or her choice, the fundamental right of every Californian to do the same is compelled by numerous provisions of constitutional text, dating back to the very adoption of the Constitution in 1879."

Most dangerous is that Prop 8 opens the door to the evisceration of other rights in the Bill of Rights by a simple and slight majority vote.

Prop 8 isn't about gay marriage. It is about no less than our Constitutional form government. If you support Prop 8, download Log Cabin Republicans http://online.logcabin.org/1-15-09-log-cabin-amicus-brief-final.pdf">brief (pdf) and see for yourself what your support means to the Constitution and how it puts us all at risk.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[madmusic]

2. Come now, guns?

How often do you hear serious arguments that the police should invade every home and take every gun? Never, not by any sane person. Not here and not anywhere else to speak of.

[yewberry]

3. It's hard not to react emotionally, though, you know?

My first impulse re: Prop 8 is just disbelief and horror that so many people could be so hateful and treacherous. I still can't wrap my mind around human beings going out of their way to take rights away from others when it costs them nothing (except their privileged status) for everyone to have equal rights.

The legal argument is the approach that can make a difference, so that's the best way to proceed. Prop 8 is a dangerous precedent and a Constitutional nightmare.