Sunday, July 22, 2007

Marriage Equality: A Watershed?

This could be an important weekend for the "gay marriage" movement (and I wanna be among the first to point out such a theory...for posterity of course.)
First that presumably god-awful Adam Sandler movie is somehow number 1 at the box office ( who would want to see that? I can only guess teenage boys who make gay jokes, maybe? It seems like everything in theaters is meant to appeal to them. I never noticed that, y'know, back when I was one) I'm not sure what the message of the movie is, though I suspect it has to be a fairly tolerant one or there's no way GLAAD would have let it get greenlit, but more importantly is this article from the LA Times. A man was paying his wife alimony when she decided to start living with her female lover. The two women entered into a "same sex union" but though they are in that arrangement the ex husband still has to pay alimony. So he's suing in court saying that he should no longer have to pay if a "same sex union is akin to marriage." Some highlights from the article, or really the real juicy part:

The case, which Garber intends to appeal, highlights gaps between the legal status of domestic partners and of married couples, an issue the California Supreme Court is considering as it ponders whether to legalize same-sex marriage.

Proponents of same-sex marriage typically argue that gay couples will not have the full rights of heterosexuals until they too can marry. The Orange County case, however, shows how heterosexuals can be the collateral damage of the lesser legal status of domestic partnership.

If spousal support does not end with domestic partnership, "heterosexual men are the ones whose ox is being gored more often than not," said San Francisco family law attorney Diana Richmond.

Lawyers in favor of same-sex marriage are watching the Orange County alimony case and say they will cite it to the state high court as an argument for uniting gay and heterosexual couples under one system: marriage.

Therese Stewart, San Francisco's chief deputy city attorney, said the alimony ruling and other gaps in the domestic partnership law "highlight the irrationality of having a separate, unequal scheme" for same-sex partners.

If there's one thing that will get heterosexuals behind marriage equality, it's when someone is messing with their money. I just hope its a persuasive legal argument as well. I think he's suing the state which, is going to mean if he wins it's getting appealed to the 9th Circuit which will probably rule in his favor and finally all will be good...until of course the Supreme Court overrules it by like a 6-3 margin. But we'll see. I'll try to keep you updated... if I remember of course.
(you can always lend a hand here. I'll like you more ;)

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