Word: gayes
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...even against popular referendums. But Amar said it remains to be seen how many, if any, of the seven justices see things his way. Yet Brown's brief will be taken seriously, he said, and will undoubtedly influence the opinion once the closely divided court rules. "It certainly helps gay marriage supporters," he added...
When the California Supreme Court issued its decision legalizing gay marriage in May, it declared that ""The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of the majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts." Brown has apparently now taken that as a touchstone, arguing that some rights cannot be taken away by the majority, absent special circumstances. "The Declaration of rights in Article I gives certain rights a privileged status," Brown told TIME. "Those rights...
...Courts to decide, but it would probably take something more like what is required to amend the U.S. Constitution, a three-fourths vote, for instance. "There has to be a special burden imposed on an effort to take away these rights," he said. "Prop 22 [the previous initiative banning gay marriage] passed with 61% of the vote, and yet the Supreme Court said it was invalid. You can't just come back with [November's] 52-48 vote and write the same language of that proposition into the constitution and call it an amendment." The California Supreme Court is expected...
Brown said reaction to his position has been mixed, with supporters of gay marriage obviously cheering. Others, he said, have been less excited. But after more than four decades of public life, and no plans to quit anytime soon, Brown seemed to relish the historic significant of the case. "Isn't this what the Federalist Papers were all about? What Madison was after?" Brown told TIME. "These questions go back to the beginning, back to Justice Marshall and the question of judicial review, to Marbury v. Madison. This is a topic of constant constitutional inquiry: What is the role...
...Brief History of Gay Marriage...