“I noticed that [defense attorney] Perry Mason was involved in a lot of the same kinds of investigative work that I had been fascinated with reading Nancy Drew, so I decided to become a lawyer,” Sotomayor told the American Bar Association publication in 2000.

Since we can’t have Perry Mason himself, we can have him by proxy. Sadly, I think this is as close as we’re going to get during OUR lifetimes to seeing an openly Gay voice on the court.

(For those of you who don’t know, Raymond Burr – Perry Mason – was Gay and famously “came out” in his will)

Now for those of you who prefer using more peaceful means, instead of lecturing everyone about how we should kiss our enemies’ asses. Y’all should be getting to work on two fronts, one, there is a petition being circulated by Yes on Equality, California residents only, to get a ballot initiative on the ballot in that state to overturn Prop 8. Secondly, Prop 8 needs to be challenged in federal court. We have a strong precedent in Romer vs Evans(link below) which could eliminate Prop 8, but also virtually every anti-gay Amendment passed in the rest of the states. Those of you who object to violence, instead of lecturing, do something solution oriented and stay out of the way.

Also, while this a LONG SHOT, especially in the United States, where International Law is rarely if ever respected, there is a strong case that Prop 8 and Amendments like it violate the United Nations Charter of Rights, particularly Article 30.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights-Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme

Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 28.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State(ie California), group(voters, Christians, etc) or person any right to engage in any activity(Prop or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein. (This Article explains why Prop 8 is clearly illegal, and it makes it clear that noone has the right to vote away the rights of another).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romer_v._Evans (Court case which invalidated Colorado Amendment 2 in the early 90s)

Now for those of you who prefer using more peaceful means, instead of lecturing everyone about how we should kiss our enemies’ asses. Y’all should be getting to work on two fronts, one, there is a petition being circulated by Yes on Equality, California residents only, to get a ballot initiative on the ballot in that state to overturn Prop 8. Secondly, Prop 8 needs to be challenged in federal court. We have a strong precedent in Romer vs Evans(link below) which could eliminate Prop 8, but also virtually every anti-gay Amendment passed in the rest of the states. Those of you who object to violence, instead of lecturing, do something solution oriented and stay out of the way.

Also, while this a LONG SHOT, especially in the United States, where International Law is rarely if ever respected, there is a strong case that Prop 8 and Amendments like it violate the United Nations Charter of Rights, particularly Article 30.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights-Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme

Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 28.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State(ie California), group(voters, Christians, etc) or person any right to engage in any activity(Prop or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein. (This Article explains why Prop 8 is clearly illegal, and it makes it clear that noone has the right to vote away the rights of another).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romer_v._Evans (Court case which invalidated Colorado Amendment 2 in the early 90s)

The conservatives got the pretty box of the word marriage, emptied of all its contents, and the California Supreme Court provided a clear plan of action for the LGBT community in California, to not only get the pretty box, but to make sure it can’t ever be taken away again.

The California Supreme Court justices basically gave their full support to the future of minorities in California, while staying inside the law and addressing only the question before them. They have pointed the way to what needs to be done to improve the California Constitution and to ensure minority rights are safe from the majority. They have provide all the material needed to settle the question of same-sex marriage in California once and for all, with no possibility of making an error because one doesn’t know where the Supreme Court stands on many issues that may be overlooked.

They have also clearly told the opposition that their case is hopeless and to move on. They are working for you, not against you.

The Supreme Court of California provided a clear plan for the LGBT community of California, to claim the word marriage for their own.

Show that harm is done to LGBT couples by being denied access to the word marriage to describe ones civil union, as has been done in New Jersey, and which is now possible for 18,000 married Californians, who are legally married, as contrasted with the experience of those who are not legally married but have civil unions, or no single descriptor at all.

Use the word marriage in everyday life to describe ones civil union so that, in the minds of the general public, the the relationship that civil union currently points to is indistinguishable from the relationship that the word marriage points to. Claim the word marriage as your own. Use it, embrace it, and let it be the only word used to describe ones relationship with ones spouse. And soon, marriage will be claimed legally as well.