I hate to use the word "breaking" and someone will probably beat me to it anyway (Update: so far--as of 4:59 PM PDT--nobody else has diaried on this; I'm surprised). And I hope I can come up with three legitimate paragraphs.
Judge Vaughn Walker's long-awaited decision on the lawsuit brought against Prop 8 will be announced tomorrow. The announcement apparently just appeared on the court's website.
Not surprisingly, there is so much interest in the case that the court created a separate page. I'll try to come up with sufficient content that I won't be too badly slammed for a "not-a-diary." Follow below
As virtually everyone knows, the suit was brought about as a result of the passage of Proposition 8 which overturned the California Supreme Court's ruling that denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples was unconstitutional. Even though Prop 8 was promulgated prior to the ruling (the petitions were being circulated throughout the spring of 2008), Prop 8 amended the state constitution so as to simply insert a definition of marriage that excluded same-sex couples. The court then ruled that because the proposition was a constitutional amendment, its hands were tied, but tried to have it both ways, saying that only the word "marriage" would be denied to gay couples, who would otherwise be entitled to all of the rights and benefits of heterosexually married folks.
I don't have the wherewithal at this point (late in the workday, trying to get work done) to adequately summarize the arguments of the plaintiffs in the suit; there was an op-ed piece by David Boies, of the plaintiff's attorneys, in last Sunday's SF Chronicle which outlined the (federal) constitutional arguments favoring marriage equality and pointed out the massive failures of the defendants' case.
I find the timing of the decision to be interesting though not in any way sinister, simply because it coincides with the National Organization for Marriage's pathetic summer tour. Various entities (NOM, AFA, CWA) have taken the opportunity to issue all sorts of stupid opinions on matters pertaining to marriage; it'll be interesting to see how the judge's decision reflects on the publicity surrounding the case. If I can find more substance to add later on I will but feel free to contribute in commments.
Update again: It's not like I've posted that many diaries, but thanks everyone for getting me on the rec list for the first time. I think I was just lucky in my timing but I'll take it.
Updated yet again, since I forgot to do it earlier: here is a link to Boies' op-ed piece. His clarity is quite amazing. You'd never know this could even be controversial but apparently the insanity of some on the religious right is contagious.