NEWSWEEK: Ted Olson: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage
NEWSWEEK: Ted Olson: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage
NEWSWEEK: Ted Olson: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#1
Posted: 1/11/10 at 8:00am
From this week's Newsweek, a challenge to American conservatives by Ted Olson, the conservative half of the duo of heterosexual power lawyers taking our case to the Supreme Court.
The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage: Why same-sex marriage is an American value.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#2
Posted: 1/11/10 at 8:43amThat should be required reading for everyone across the political spectrum, starting with our president.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#2
Posted: 1/11/10 at 9:29amBRAVO!
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#3
Posted: 1/11/10 at 9:57amTowleroad has terrific coverage on this. One of the commenters there noted that Ted Olson has won over 3/4 of his cases in the Supreme Court.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#4
Posted: 1/11/10 at 10:12amNicely written, well argued, and I don't believe he means a word of it.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#5
Posted: 1/11/10 at 10:14amIsn't the case supposed to air on youtube? I couldn't find it.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#6
Posted: 1/11/10 at 11:19amIt starts this morning in California.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#7
Posted: 1/11/10 at 11:26amThe SCOTUS just put a hold, for now at least, on televising the proceedings, even via delay on youtube. They will come a final decision to allow televising within the next few days.
Joined: 12/31/69
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#8
Posted: 1/11/10 at 11:28amWhy watch the proceedings? It's SO MUCH better to hear it re-enacted by Nina Totenburg on NPR.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#9
Posted: 1/11/10 at 12:12pm
http://firedoglake.com/prop8trial/
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#10
Posted: 1/11/10 at 12:58pmFYI - the live blogging at FDL is compelling...
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#11
Posted: 1/11/10 at 2:20pmNEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#12
Posted: 1/11/10 at 2:48pmAccording to the blogger, the lawyer defending prop 8 put a large piece of his argument behind procreation being a vital function of marriage. If that's their best argument, I like our chances.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#13
Posted: 1/11/10 at 2:54pm
Prop 8 trial on twitter
http://twitter.com/FedcourtJunkie
http://twitter.com/theadvocatemag
http://twitter.com/ACLU_NorCal
http://twitter.com/AmerEqualRights
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#14
Posted: 1/11/10 at 3:05pmIt's basically everything that's been said before by every liberal arguing for gay marriage. I hoped he would argue from the perspective of conservative principles, specifically smaller government, instead of resorting to the same arguments that have been made for years- and summarily ignored- by conservatives. By the end, I was surprised he hadn't regurgitated "It's not natural- like eyeglasses" and "Leviticus prohibits wearing polyester and eating shellfish too!"
Wanting life but never knowing how
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#15
Posted: 1/11/10 at 3:51pmIt won't be enough to sway the Supremes. Bigotry isn't about reasoned argument, it is just about HATE.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#16
Posted: 1/11/10 at 5:20pm
This is from last May but found it interesting.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2009/05/gay-rights-groups-ted-olson-thanks-no-thanks
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#17
Posted: 1/11/10 at 5:44pmThey've kissed and made up now. The gay groups are participating as amici curiae.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#18
Posted: 1/11/10 at 6:18pm
It's basically everything that's been said before by every liberal arguing for gay marriage.
Agreed. I was disappointed after reading it because the title didn't match the piece. I've read similar (and more convincing) arguments on plenty of liberal blogs.
I think most conservatives will write it off as either a conservative with a liberal argument or a fake conservative. It's not an inherently liberal argument, but it's inherently non-partisan. To be effective I think it needed to be a legitimate conservative argument. ie, more pandering.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#19
Posted: 1/11/10 at 6:42pmI'm glad other people said it before I did, or I'd be called negative and contrarian, but yeah, I don't see what's the big deal about this.
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#20
Posted: 1/11/10 at 8:16pm
Ted Olson's opening statement.
It might have been said before, but never in this context and never with such ramifications.
From Olson's opening statement.
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The plaintiffs are two loving couples, American citizens, entitled to equality and due process under our Constitution. They are in deeply committed, intimate, and longstanding relationships. They want to marry the person they love; to enter into that “most important relation in life”; to share their dreams with their partners; and to confer the many benefits of marriage on their families.
But Proposition 8 singled out gay men and lesbians as a class, swept away their right to marry, pronounced them unequal, and declared their relationships inferior and less-deserving of respect and dignity.
In the words of the California Supreme Court, eliminating the right of individuals to marry a same-sex partner relegated those individuals to “second class” citizenship, and told them, their families and their neighbors that their love and desire for a sanctioned marital partnership was not worthy of recognition.
Text of Ted Olson’s Opening Statement in Prop. 8 Trial – As Prepared
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#21
Posted: 1/12/10 at 10:39am
The New Yorker has a huge article, but this is the best section:
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One of the arguments that the anti-gay-marriage side has increasingly turned to outside the courtroom is that allowing same-sex marriage would hurt heterosexual marriage. At the pretrial hearing, Judge Walker kept asking Charles Cooper, the lawyer defending Proposition 8, how exactly it did so. "I’m asking you to tell me," he said at last, "how it would harm opposite-sex marriages."
"All right," Cooper said.
"All right," Walker said. Let’s play on the same playing field for once."
There was a pause—it seemed like a long one to people in the courtroom, though it was probably only a few seconds. And Cooper said, "Your Honor, my answer is: I don’t know. I don’t know."
A Risky Proposal: Is it too soon to petition the Supreme Court on gay marriage?
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#22
Posted: 1/12/10 at 10:45am
Per, the smart, wonky folks at www.fivethirtyeight.com, the divorce rate in Massachusetts has DROPPED BY 21% in the five years following the legalization of gay marriage.
Gay marriage impact on divorce
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#23
Posted: 1/21/10 at 7:29pm
Following the trial on this case has been very disturbing and enlightening. While the case is not being broadcast, FDL and Courage Campaign have been trying their best to transcribe the testimony.
Courage Campaign
NEWSWEEK: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage#24
Posted: 1/21/10 at 10:40pm
Towleroad and Pam's Hot Blend have great coverage too.
This case has enough twists and turns and surprises for it to be made into the next Inherit the Wind.
Every day produces another jaw-dropping blockbuster development...or several!
Check out Pam's Hot Blend:
Perry v. Schwarzenegger Proceedings, Day 8
Videos
