Reports From My Nanocosm

Tags: Casimir, family, sprout

It appears the gay community were just given an opportunity to challenge the Federal Defense of Marriage Act along with state bans on same-sex marriage.

Court: Gay couple can’t divorce in RI – Yahoo! News

A lesbian couple that married in Massachusetts cannot get divorced in their home state of Rhode Island, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The court, in a 3-2 decision, said the state’s family court lacks the authority to grant the divorce of a same-sex couple because Rhode Island lawmakers have not defined marriage as anything other than a union between a man and a woman.

“The role of the judicial branch is not to make policy, but simply to determine the legislative intent,” the court wrote.

Cassandra Ormiston and Margaret Chambers wed in Massachusetts in 2004 and filed for divorce last year in Rhode Island, where they both live. But opponents of same-sex marriage said the court correctly avoided taking a step toward recognizing such unions.

Massachusetts, the only state where gay marriage is legal, restricts the unions to residents of states where the marriage would be recognized, and a Massachusetts judge decided last year that Rhode Island is one of those states.

No law specifically bans same-sex marriages in Rhode Island, but the state has taken no action to recognize them. The justices said Rhode Island laws contain numerous references to marriage as between a woman and a man.

Without knowing more details, I think this couple has a valid challenge under the Privileges and Immunities clause, Full Faith and Credit Clause, as well as Equal Protection Clause. As much as I feel for this couple though, I don’t think they should challenge the Rhode Island ruling. Stronger and more favorable cases will come along with more sympathetic plaintiffs. This couple were residents of another state, Rhode Island, who had a drive-through wedding in Massachusetts. I think it will play differently in the courts if the couple had lived in Mass. but moved to another state for job or other reasons. It would also be more powerful if it were a state that bans same-sex marriage rather then Rhode Island which appears mostly neutral, except for the 3-2 ruling today. A statute passed specifically to discriminate against gays will also allow courts to add teeth to the rational basis standard of review they are likely to use. If that is the case, hopefully the decision resembles Romer v. Evans in which the Supreme Court said the state constitutional amendment was â??born of animosity toward the class of persons affectedâ? and further that it had no rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose.

Even while studying for other exams, I can’t get ConLaw out of my head.

Tags: constitution, government, policy

I took my Con Law exam earlier today. I feel pretty good about it. I was well prepared. There were only two multiple choice questions I was unsure of, but was lucky enough to take a 50% bet on them. The essay section wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be. They were fairly straight forward First Amendment questions that dealt with the Jena 6 situation in Louisiana.

Now for the real test. I have exams in Evidence on Monday evening and Int’l Law on Tuesday afternoon. Throw in the usual distractions and I’m neck deep in studying and hoping I’m not knee deep in something else.

I still have another exam the following Monday and paper that’s still due. I’m looking forward to the 20th when its all done for the semester. Then again, it all starts over a few weeks later with, hopefully, new distractions.

Tags: law school

It appears Mike Huckabee can’t win either way regarding religion. His far-right, evangelical base is likely to abandon him if he doesn’t say he supports creationism in public education. Those not on the far-right are likely to avoid him if he says religion-based education belongs in public schools. He doesn’t need to worry about me. I don’t intend to vote for him, regardless of his position on creationism in school.

Huckabee bristles at creationism query – Yahoo! News

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist preacher who has surged in Iowa with evangelical Christian support, bristled Tuesday when asked if creationism should be taught in public schools.Huckabee â?? who raised his hand at a debate last May when asked which candidates disbelieved the theory of evolution â?? asked this time why there is such a fascination with his beliefs.

… [H]he expressed frustration that he is asked about it so often, arguing with the questioner that it ultimately doesn’t matter what his personal views are.

“That’s an irrelevant question to ask me â?? I’m happy to answer what I believe, but what I believe is not what’s going to be taught in 50 different states,” Huckabee said. “Education is a state function. The more state it is, and the less federal it is, the better off we are.”

I disagree with Huckabee when he says his personal views are irrelevant. On the contrary, the personal opinions of Presidential candidates are always highly relevant regarding Constitutional rights and the controversies that follow them.

He’s absolutely right about education being a state function. Education has always been and should remain the domain of the states. The Federal government is involved in education for two major reasons: money and the Constitution. First, we don’t need to look further than the “No Child Left Behind Act” to see the role money plays. Nobody wants to see government money given away without strings attached and accountability mechanisms in place. But even if the Federal government stopped spending money on education and withdrew its related tentacles, the Constitution will require the Federal government to remain involved in education. The First Amendment says that the government “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” (Establishment Clause). The Supreme Court held 20 years ago, 7-2, that teaching creationism in public education violates the establishment clause. For that reason, States still won’t be able to teach creationism in schools.

In addition,

[Huckabee] told reporters that the theory of intelligent design, whose proponents believe an intelligent cause is the best way to explain some complex and orderly features of the universe, should be taught in schools as one of many viewpoints. “I don’t think schools ought to indoctrinate kids to believe one thing or another,” he said.

This goes to my previous comments regarding the creationism versus evolution debate (Science, houses, stones, and creation). Intelligent Design is not science, rather another phrase for creationism that was coined in an attempt to skirt Constitutional Law.

Tags: constitution, first amendment, government, politics

Tags: Casimir, family, sprout

Hawaii deserves a spot in the college football championship game (a.k.a. BCS Title Game) as the lone undefeated team standing. That is particularly true because several Top 25 teams with openings in their schedules refused to play Hawaii this season.

ESPN – Hawaii rallies from 21 down to save perfect season – NCAA College Football Recap

HONOLULU (AP) — Colt Brennan threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grice-Mullen with 44 seconds left and Hawaii (No. 12 BCS, No. 11 AP)overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Washington 35-28 on Saturday night to finish the regular season 12-0 and virtually assure a BCS berth.

Time for a playoff. What other sport in the World crowns a champion with an arbitrary selection by people and computers without a head-to-head matchup? It doesn’t happen.

Unfortunately, there are no financial incentives to change how things are. That is, until fans provide them. So I’m calling for a fan boycott. Yes, a fan boycott.

Boycott: How it will work

• Refuse to purchase any memorabilia or merchandise that has a logo of any college that participates in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (list here). Also refuse to purchase any tickets to football games, including bowl games. I will not buy any more Trojan Gear until a playoff is installed. The ultimate decision is up to the school presidents of the big six leagues.
• Contact companies that sponsor your football team, the league they compete in, and the bowl games to declare your opposition to the bowl system and
• Target one specific company: All State
  • Contact its Customer Care (1-800-All-State) and lodge your dissatisfaction with its sponsoring the Title Game and request it pressure the NCAA to form a football playoff it sponsors instead.
  • Companies are very concerned about image and a few thousand calls regarding its sponsorship will make it take notice.
  • As a last resort, if you want to go this far, is to cancel your policies.
• Refuse to watch the games. If anyone has power to convince schools, it is the TV networks that paid beaucoup bucks to broadcast the games. They depend on advertising revenue based on the number of “eyeballs” watching the broadcast. If those “eyeballs” were to not show up …

Until a playoff is installed, I’ll just divert more attention to studying and soccer (a.k.a. futbol).

Tags: usc trojans