The times they are a changin'
Ted Olsen (yes, that Ted Olsen, the guy who ran point on the legal team which got Bush appointed to the White House in 2000), is upset with the Calif. Supreme Court.
He not only upset with them, on legal grounds, but he's staging a legal challenge to Prop 8. A federal challenge. Of all things, given this court, an Equal Protection Challenge.
Bush Solicitor General, Ted Olson, explains why he's now for gay marriage
"It is our position in this case that Proposition 8, as upheld by the California Supreme Court, denies federal constitutional rights under the equal protection and due process clauses of the constitution," Olson said. "The constitution protects individuals' basic rights that cannot be taken away by a vote. If the people of California had voted to ban interracial marriage, it would have been the responsibility of the courts to say that they cannot do that under the constitution. We believe that denying individuals in this category the right to lasting, loving relationships through marriage is a denial to them, on an impermissible basis, of the rights that the rest of us enjoy…I also personally believe that it is wrong for us to continue to deny rights to individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation."
There's a lot in that paragraph. The most important part, to me, is this, "I also personally believe." He didn't couch it in some distancing phrase about laws, or the arc of history. He made a flat out declaration that this ia a moral wrong.
The cynic in me half wants to say he's doing this as a crafty piece of politics to get this before the court so they can uphold it.
But the hopeful, optomistic part says he's can't be willing to take the abuse this is going to get heaped on him (not just the immediate reactions from the right, but the secondary reactions from the people with whom he will be working. Bob Barr suffered from his working with the ACLU against the PATRIOT ACT).
This is big. If it gets traction at the federal level it's big too. Jerry Brown isn't going to be pursuing the defense against this with all the zeal Ted Olsen had when he was arguing cases for Bush (he was Solicitor general for awhile). Brown will do his job, but to the bare minimum.
Olsen, if he means what he says (and I have no reason to doubt him), will be a man on a mission. I can't imagine taking this public a stand, on so unpopular (with the people who were his natural supporters) an issue, if he didn't believe.
He's no slouch as a lawyer. I don't know how many quills he has, but he's no stranger to this court, which can't hurt should it get that far.
The world turned upside down indeed.
He not only upset with them, on legal grounds, but he's staging a legal challenge to Prop 8. A federal challenge. Of all things, given this court, an Equal Protection Challenge.
Bush Solicitor General, Ted Olson, explains why he's now for gay marriage
"It is our position in this case that Proposition 8, as upheld by the California Supreme Court, denies federal constitutional rights under the equal protection and due process clauses of the constitution," Olson said. "The constitution protects individuals' basic rights that cannot be taken away by a vote. If the people of California had voted to ban interracial marriage, it would have been the responsibility of the courts to say that they cannot do that under the constitution. We believe that denying individuals in this category the right to lasting, loving relationships through marriage is a denial to them, on an impermissible basis, of the rights that the rest of us enjoy…I also personally believe that it is wrong for us to continue to deny rights to individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation."
There's a lot in that paragraph. The most important part, to me, is this, "I also personally believe." He didn't couch it in some distancing phrase about laws, or the arc of history. He made a flat out declaration that this ia a moral wrong.
The cynic in me half wants to say he's doing this as a crafty piece of politics to get this before the court so they can uphold it.
But the hopeful, optomistic part says he's can't be willing to take the abuse this is going to get heaped on him (not just the immediate reactions from the right, but the secondary reactions from the people with whom he will be working. Bob Barr suffered from his working with the ACLU against the PATRIOT ACT).
This is big. If it gets traction at the federal level it's big too. Jerry Brown isn't going to be pursuing the defense against this with all the zeal Ted Olsen had when he was arguing cases for Bush (he was Solicitor general for awhile). Brown will do his job, but to the bare minimum.
Olsen, if he means what he says (and I have no reason to doubt him), will be a man on a mission. I can't imagine taking this public a stand, on so unpopular (with the people who were his natural supporters) an issue, if he didn't believe.
He's no slouch as a lawyer. I don't know how many quills he has, but he's no stranger to this court, which can't hurt should it get that far.
The world turned upside down indeed.