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.
So, not only is marriage a right... so is founding a family.
Furthermore:
ARTICLE 30... Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.It is not, however, anyone's right "to engage in any activity... aimed at the destruction of [the right to marry and found a family]."
Proposition 8 reads:
ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME-SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Fiscal Impact: Over next few years, potential revenue loss, mainly sales taxes, totaling in the several tens of millions of dollars, to state and local governments. In the long run, likely little fiscal impact on state and local governments.
Sounds like a violation of civil rights to me, and therefore will eventually be struck down by the US Supreme Court.
ReplyDeleteHopefully it won't have to be.
Hopefully it won't have to be.
ReplyDeleteActually, it would be a very good thing if it went to SCOTUS and was struck down there, because that would result in every other state amendment being overturned too.
It would be better for California in the short run if Prop 8 is defeated (and possibly better for the country, if CA's influence carries enough weight to get things going elsewhere), but a Prop 8 win followed by a US Supreme Court ruling declaring it unconstitutional would be a major win for equal rights.
Hello, I came across your blog from a comment you left on The Liberal Mormon That could. I just wanted to say thanks for your comment over there. It was powerful and meant so much to me.
ReplyDeleteI really do see this state-by-state movement to legalize gay marriage as the first (and last? i'm not all that fluent in law) step to get the The Defense Against Marriage Act overturned so married gay couples can *really* have all the rights of a straight couple.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. I wasn't aware of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I'm going to check out that link now.
All the best. Thank you for visiting my blog. It means a lot.
amanda & lisa: you're welcome -- and thank you for listening (...really... thank you).
ReplyDeleteAlso, although I was aware of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I never sat down and read it until recently... I was quite enlightened to say the least.