Standing Against the Religious Right

[cbayer]

http://www.ukprogressive.co.uk/standing-against-the-religious-right/article22901.html

CARL MATTHES | JULY 2, 2013 5:00 PM



Lesbians and gay men across the country, joined by a majority of Americans, are celebrating the historic June 26, 2013 decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States scuttling DOMA and sending Prop 8 back to the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Friday, June 28, the 9th Circuit Court immediately lifted the injunction against same-sex marriage and the two couples who spearheaded the fight against Prop 8 were legally married.

Undeniably, America has moved closer to recognizing equality under the law for lesbians and gay men. Unfortunately, there still exists, within the national framework of access to same-sex marriage, legal unfairness, inequality and downright silliness for couples in same-sex versus opposite-sex marriages. This “half a loaf is better than none” Supreme Court decision has angered many in the LGBT community which forces us to accept status as second-class citizens.

And, we know that same-sex marriage is not settled. Thirteen states allowing marriage equality does not rise to the “equality level” demanded by the United States Constitution. The 14th amendment “requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its jurisdiction.” Despite DOMA being declared unconstitutional, federal benefits may not flow to same-sex married couples who move to states which do not recognize gay marriage. Additionally, other laws to fully enfranchise the LGBT community, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), have languished for years in Congress. This coming week, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas) is introducing a bill to amend the U. S. Constitution to stop same-sex marriage

Further, it’s impossible to fully enjoy this move towards equality when just days earlier Supreme Court removed the heart of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That 5-to-4 vote will now allow nine states, mostly in the South, to change their election laws without advance federal approval. Dissenter Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cited Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by saying, “his legacy had been disserved by today’s decision.” Prophetically, the right-wing’s multi-decade war against “activist judges” has come full circle making conservatives the brunt of Pogo’s Walt Kelley’s famous quote, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

more at link

[okasha]

1. We need a liberal Senator

to introduce a bill to make the rights and freedoms of the Voting Rights Act into a Constitutional amendment.

[cbayer]

2. We sure do, but the prognosticators have been very pessimistic on this point.

[skepticscott]

3. We need those vast armies

of "liberal" and "progressive" Christians to actually make a difference on the ground, and start outvoting that tiny fringe minority of right wing religious nuts (who aren't REAL Christians anyway). After all, we know for a fact that they've been at the forefront of every important social justice movement in the past century, and that nothing good happens without them being involved.