Aug. 4th, 2004

ravencallscrows: (peacockhead)
Courtesy of today's Seattle Times. The whole article can be found here:

King County judge rules in favor of same-sex marriage

By Sanjay Bhatt
Seattle Times staff reporter

Same-sex marriage is legal in Washington state, King County Superior Court Judge William Downing ruled today.
But, as expected, the decision is stayed — and no local marriage licenses can be issuesd — until the state Supreme Court reviews the case

In his ruling, Downing said the state's Defense of Marriage Act, which limits marriage to one man and one woman, is unconstitutional.
<snippage>
Citing the rationale of state Supreme Courts in Massachusetts and Vermont, Downing wrote, "The Court concludes that the exclusion of same-sex partners from civil marriage and the privileges attendant thereto is not rationally related to any legitimate or compelling state interest and is certainly not narrowly tailored toward such an interest."

Downing characterized the reasons for banning same-sex marriage and then refuted them as follows:

• "Morality requires it." Downing countered: "... Americans have differing views as to what morality requires in the definition of marriage. It is not for our secular government to choose between religions and take moral or religious sides in such a debate.

• "Tradition compels it." Downing cited the Massachusetts' Supreme Court's opinon that "it is circular reasoning, not analysis, to maintain that marriage must remain a heterosexual institution because that is what it historically has been."

• "The institution of marriage is threatened." The judge said threats to marriage — notably a shortage of commitment and an excess of selfishness — come from inside the institution, not outside it.

"Before the Court stand eight couples who credibly represent that they are ready and willing to make the kind of commitment to partner and family for all the right kinds of reasons. All they ask is for the state to make them able," he wrote.
ravencallscrows: (Callanish)


My fellow 'Murrikuns, if'n you've been having the polling numbers read to you twice a week like I like to have Condi do, you're prolly realizin' by now that things are startin' to look like they're not going perfectly with our strategery, and we can't be having that. Bin Laden and Kerry want me to crack, so that the terra'ists can win. But because I'm a strong leader, I'm gonna stan' here today and tell you that as long as you cain't see me sweat, you can rest assured that a Strong and Fearless Leader is runnin' the country, whether I'm in the White House, at my Crawford ranch, or here speaking to those of you who took the loyalty oath to hear me speak today.

edit: Just in case it wasn't clear from the initial image, here's the same scene from an entirely different camera angle, which should help put the comments in perspective (pun completely intended).

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