Joint statement by the authors of The Dallas Principles/a>:Joint statement by the authors of The Dallas Principles:
"Today is a day of mourning and a day of anger. We should all feel angry at political and judicial systems that deny full civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
"Alexis De Tocqueville was correct centuries before in warning against the tyranny of the majority. Our judicial system was designed to ensure that political majorities could not deny minorities equality. Yet, the California Supreme Court today gave effect to a majority opinion that wrote discrimination into the California Constitution and denied Californians full civil marriage equality.
"We must now turn our grief and frustration into action. www.TheDallasPrinciples.org sets forth a clear set of principles and goals for us to achieve full civil rights now. Join us. Tell others. Incorporate the principles into your personal, grassroots and political lives. Hold accountable the elected judges and political leaders that deny us full civil rights. Make our organizations stronger with your energy and passion. Create a tidal wave of response that inspires a nation to live by its highest ideals." If you are attending a rally, here is Dallas Principles flyer.
• Log Cabin Republicans - LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS, REPUBLICANS AGAINST PROP 8 VOW TO RESTORE RIGHT TO MARRY:
(LOS ANGELES) Log Cabin Republicans and Republicans Against Prop 8 issue the following statements:
Statement of Scott Schmidt, Campaign Manager, Republicans Against 8
"It is a sad day for California when the Supreme Court gives up its role as the ultimate protector of Constitutional Rights for all Californians. By endorsing the legal theory that basic Constitutional Rights are subject to a plurality of the electorate, the Court has marginalized the Constitution and has created a climate of chaos of fear each time Californians go to the ballot box."
"The people have spoken and now the court has too. As Republicans who believe that the principles of limited government, personal responsibility and fundamental freedoms extend the right to marry to all Californians, our mission is now clear. We must renew our efforts to form a coalition to restore equal access to marriage to all Californians, and move forward to educate the people of California, whatever their race, creed or political party that freedom and fairness dictate undoing the harm caused by Proposition 8 at the ballot box."
Statement by Leonard M. Lanzi - President, California Log Cabin Republicans
"While we were defeated in this ballot initiative, our cause is right and just. We will continue to work with our allies in the Republican Party and across the political spectrum in California to educate voters that marriage equality is truly a conservative value, along the lines of strengthening individual freedoms, limiting the role of government in our daily lives and preserving personal responsibility."
• Shannon Minter - A Statement from NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter on the California Supreme Court's Prop 8 Ruling:
A statement from Shannon Minter, Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights:
The decision is a terrible blow to the thousands of Californians who woke up this morning hoping and praying their status as equal citizens of this state would be restored. The court's decision has crushed those hopes and made it painfully clear that we must go back to the voters to restore equality. The majority opinion upheld prop 8 only through tortured logic that ignored its prior recognition that same sex couples and their children are entitled to full equality under the law. No group should have its right to equality put up for a majority vote. And yet that is what the Court permitted in its decision today. That holding has set a dangerous precedent that endangers the most basic principle of our democracy - the right to equal protection of the laws. As Justice Moreno wrote in his dissent, "denying gays and lesbians the right to marry, by wrenching minority rights away from judicial protection and subjecting them instead to a majority vote, attacks the very core of the equal protection principle."
This is a sad day for California and especially for all the parents who must now explain to their children why their family is not considered equal. But the path before us is now clear. In the days ahead, all those who care about fairness -- and especially same-sex couples and their friends and family members -- must give voters in California a chance get beyond their fears and help them know and understand our families. Today's decision was a painful setback, but if we stay united and reach out with love and respect, we will prevail.
• San Diego Pride - San Diego Pride Responds to CA Supreme Court's Decision to Uphold Prop 8:
In regard to today's ruling by the California State Supreme Court to uphold Proposition 8, which eliminates the right of same-sex couples to legally marry within the state of California, San Diego LGBT Pride has issued the following response on behalf of its board of directors and executive director, Ron deHarte.
"San Diego Pride and its many supporters will continue focusing on public education and coalition-building in a newly energized movement determined to achieve marriage equality for scores of same-sex couples who are unfairly denied the privilege. That means forging the most skilled individuals and groups from both inside and outside the LGBT community who are dedicated to effecting change on this issue once and for all."
Today's ruling allowing Prop 8 to stand reaffirms that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community of California must continue rising against prejudicial and unconstitutional charges of moral inferiority. We are particularly ignited over the civil rights achievements seen in states such as Maine, Iowa and Vermont, which have recently joined Connecticut and Massachusetts in guaranteeing marriage equality to same-sex couples."
"We will also continue raising our visibility until the federal government's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is repealed; until there is a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act; until every LGBT person is treated equally; and until the State of California guarantees marriage equality for all citizens.
We encourage the use of nonviolent civil disobedience to further these causes, and we are committed to finding the most effective ways to achieve and secure full equality for all LGBT individuals."
• Atticus Circle - California Supreme Court Upholds Prop. 8 -- Gay Marriage Remains Banned in State:
While we're disappointed in the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold the ban on same-sex marriage, we know this isn't the final word in the debate over equal rights in California.
Recent victories for same-sex marriage rights in Iowa, Vermont, and Maine indicate to us that attitudes are evolving, and more and more people are beginning to understand LGBT couples deserve the same protections and rights that straight couples enjoy.
While the ruling disappoints us, we are glad that the Court decided to legally recognize the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who were allowed to legally marry in California last year. We are hopeful that more LGBT couples in California will someday be able to exercise the right to marry those they love.
As straight supporters of LGBT rights, we in Atticus Circle will continue to speak out in support of LGBT couples and families, who are just as deserving of the basic legal rights that straight couples and families receive through marriage.
Religious Right Organizational Responses
• California's Campaign For Children & Families - California Supreme Court upholds only half of Prop. 8:
'An arm and a leg cut off marriage'
California Supreme Court upholds only half of Prop. 8
Sacramento, California -- Today's ruling by the California Supreme Court that some 18,000 homosexual "marriages" are valid, despite the vote of the people to prohibit such legal recognition, has frustrated and disappointed pro-family citizens who voted for true protection of marriage licenses for a man and a woman.
"While it was good that the majority of the justices ruled only man-woman marriages could be performed after Prop. 8 passed, it's wrong and unconstitutional for the judges to permit counterfeit marriages in clear violation of Prop. 8," said Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, a statewide pro-family organization that has been fighting for natural marriage in California for more than a decade. "An arm and a leg have been cut off the natural institution of marriage in California."
Prop. 8 proponents' rebuttal arguments in the voter information guide stated: "Your YES vote on Proposition 8 means that only marriage between a man and a woman will be valid or recognized in California, regardless of when or where performed." Thomasson said, "'Regardless of when...performed' obviously means that pre-existing same-sex 'marriages' are not valid in light of Prop. 8. Why is it so hard to understand what the words 'is' and 'when' mean?"
"The judges have ignored the straightforward, retroactive effect of Prop. 8, which specified that the only valid marriage in California 'is' between a man and a woman, 'regardless of when' the marriage was performed," said Thomasson. "This is unconstitutional and unjust. The court's own rules require that the counterfeit marriages be declared null and void. But instead of respecting the clear text of Prop. 8 and by ignoring the clarifying ballot statements, the court has gone with its own feelings and its own social agenda in violation of the judges' solemn oaths to uphold the written constitution. The voters have been handed back an altered ballot."
Today's decision means every homosexual couple that wanted a "same-sex marriage" last year, got one. The decision also means some 18,000 counterfeit marriages will be held out as role models to impressionable children. "By allowing these numerous false marriages to stand, the Supreme Court is holding out to impressionable boys and girls the unnatural role model of homosexual 'marriages'" said Thomasson. "This is not what the people of California voted for. They voted to ensure that the only marriage in California is a marriage between a man and a woman." ...
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• Californian's Capitol Resource Institute - Proposition 8 Is Upheld by the California Supreme Court:
California's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Proposition 8 today.
"We were confident this was a constitutional amendment and that it would be upheld. It's a great day for families in California, because the will of the people continues to count," said Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Institute.
The central issue was whether Proposition 8 properly amended or improperly revised the California Constitution. In a 6-1 vote, every justice except Justice Carlos R. Moreno called it an amendment.
Going forward, marriage will continue to be defined as between one man and one woman. Same-sex couples who were married in California before Proposition 8 passed will stay married, however, because the high court voted to uphold their marriages.
"The court placed our state in this untenable situation by allowing almost 18,000 homosexual couples to marry last summer, before Proposition 8 was approved by voters," stated England. "Legally, these marriages cannot be valid. The constitution clearly states that only man-woman marriage is valid or recognized in California. The court has undermined its own authority by allowing these faux marriages to stand."
"Californians have now voted twice to affirm husband-wife marriage. Prop 8 opponents tried to overrule the people in the courts, but today the Supreme Court defended California's proper initiative system," England said.
While marriage supporters across the nation celebrate Proposition 8, its opponents will take to the streets today and on Saturday. They are ready to protest the ruling with public demonstrations.
In the Bay Area, they plan to feature local clergy and to engage in civil disobedience. Taking inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr., their message is that "separate is not equal."
"As a mixed race woman, I know that two people with different coloring in their skin or hair are not fundamentally different. But men and women are fundamentally different," said Raija Churchill, Policy Writer and Researcher for Capitol Resource Institute.
"That's why we affirm that marriage is between one man and one woman, regardless of coloring," she said.
"This is a great victory for California. The message is that rule of law counts and we can't just sidestep the initiative process for political gain," England said.
