Popcorn and a Movie: Part II

Did you enjoy yourself at intermisson, guys?  Now that everyone's back in their seats, I'll continue with the discussion - which is as much to summarize and clarify what I know for my own benefit as for anyone else's.  Once again, I'm not a legal expert, just a highly interested observer of these things from afar.

(If you do want to hear a legal expert's opinion on these cases, read the excellent analysis by David Cole, Professor of Law at Georgetown University.  But he won't give you any popcorn or free movies, like me.)

Well, to pick up from Thursday's post, there are a number of ways the Supreme Court could decide the Prop 8 case, depending on which one can get at least five votes. Marty Lederman at SCOTUSblog analyzes at least seven possible rulings.

1. reversal on the merits, upholding Proposition 8 as being constitutional, not discriminatory against gays and lesbians;
2. dismissal of the Proposition 8 sponsors’ petition for lack of appellate standing (leaving the ruling of U.S. district judge Vaughn Walker intact and thus returning same-sex marriage to California immediately, if not sooner);
3. dismissal of the petition as improvidently granted by the Supreme Court – a “DIG” (same result as above); or
4. overturning of the court of appeals’ decision (which upheld what Judge Walker ruled) and sending the case back to the Ninth Circuit for reconsideration in light of whatever the Court does in Windsor, the DOMA case.

and three different ways of striking down Proposition 8, in line with Judge Walker's findings of fact that it does discriminate against gays and lesbians for no good reason:

1. a ruling that applies only to California;
2. a ruling that would guarantee same-sex marriage in the eight states that already offer all the benefits and other incidents of marriage (i.e., most civil unions and some domestic partnerships); or
3. a sweeping ruling that would provide a constitutional right to same-sex marriage nationwide.

After a good bit of argument and analysis, he sees the dismissal on standing grounds or an “eight-state” ruling on the merits as being the most likely outcomes.  He doesn't see a reversal on the merits, or a nationwide ruling, as being within the realm of possibilities for the Court at this time.  I'll leave it up to you guys to go read his analysis and see if you agree.

Many commentators I've read this week do seem to think that, having considered the cases back to back, the DOMA ruling will likely have a major effect on how the high court decides the Prop 8 case.  So let's turn to that now.

Continued after the jump . . .

A Very Long Engagement

On Netflix last night I came across a great documentary you fellas would probably like as much as I did.  Edie & Thea:  A Very Long Engagement is a love story spanning nearly half a century that does end happily ever after - what I suppose we all wish for but not all of us find.  Very well-told too, with lots of anecdotes and snapshots from across the decades.

The couple married in Toronto in 2007; but after Thea died in 2009, the feds hit her widow with a $363,000 tax bill on the proceeds of Thea's estate - relying on the Defense of Marriage Act -  a tax which straight married couples are exempt from.  Do you hear me, guys?  Whiny little pinheads who write articles about "Oh, the government should just get out of the marriage business," etc., are not dealing with the realities of life.  Marriage matters, a hell of a lot - in this and all kinds of ways.

Do you realize that no matter how long you have been together, if your partner dies without a proper will, you have no right to anything he owned?  Not so much as a teacup or a shirt button.  His parents or sibs or children can walk right into your house and haul everything away, and if the place was in his name, they can change the locks on the doors, set your ass right on the street - and not a fucking thing you can do about it.

And even if he did make a will and leave you something - be it a house, a car, money in the bank, whatever - because you are not legally married, all of that is counted as income to you, and subject to ordinary income tax just like your paycheck.  If your partner is killed in an accident or a crime, you can't sue the guilty party for damages.  In most states, if your partner was a schoolteacher or civil service worker, you can't collect from his state pension, nor can you always count on pension benefits from private employers, either.  And you certainly can't collect his Social Security or veteran's benefits.  Yet.

Now Edie is suing the feds for discrimination; Obama's Justice Department last February announced it would no longer defend DOMA in court, calling it unconstitutional.  So the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, a creation of House Republicans, is pressing on with the defense in this case.   The way the court rules will no doubt set a big precedent for future same-sex marriage cases on the federal level.

In the meantime, go watch Edie & Thea, which was filmed before Thea died.  A really great love story.  And yes, you will need a few kleenex before it's over.