[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

As an attorney, my practice upon receiving a ruling from a court, in particular an appellate or reviewing court, has been to take the decision and read from the first page and not immediately go to the concluding paragraphs indicating how the court had ruled and who “won” the case. I have finished reading the court’s decision and the concurring and dissenting opinions and I’m glad I kept up my practice.

In a 4-3 ruling, the California Supreme Court ruled that, even though domestic partnership laws in our state give substantially the same rights and impose substantially the same responsibilities on those who choose to enter into same sex unions, that calling them by a different name—and not marriage—is discriminatory and violates the equal protection and privacy clauses of the California Constitution. My copy of the decision is full of yellow highlights.

When I got to the end of the Court’s decision, I came to the conclusion that, unlike the thousands of cases I have handled, no one really “lost” in this case. The Court explained in great detail how this decision takes away nothing from those, such as myself, who are married to a person of the opposite sex and who take pride in describing ourselves—and our son—as a family.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Advocates for a California Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage put out a press release saying they have collected enough signatures to qualify the initiative for November:

"SACRAMENTO - ProtectMarriage.com, a coalition of pro-family organizations, churches and individuals, announced today successfully collecting signatures from over 1.1 million voters to put an initiative on the November ballot to protect marriage in California as only between a man and a woman... boxes of petitions are being delivered to election officials in all 58 counties, who will now validate the petitions and determine if the needed 694,354 valid signatures have been submitted. If so, the measure will appear on the November 2008 ballot."

read more »

by Bob Brigham [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Speaking on behalf of John McCain, our our Governor dropped a bombshell:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says that if an initiative to ban gay marriage qualifies for the November ballot, he's prepared to fight it.

[...]

Schwarzenegger said he was confident a ban would never pass in California and called the effort "a waste of time."

Welcome aboard, Governor.

by Assemblymember_Levine [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

It's becoming predictable every election season. California's anti-gay groups are attempting to put a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the November ballot. They presume Californians will agree with them and flock to the polls, erasing years of progress.

My hope is this November California voters will be galvanized and electrified by a sense of hope for the future, not limiting it. That's why I am STRONGLY supporting the "Decline to Sign" campaign fighting to keep the same-sex marriage initiative off the ballot. Whether or not they succeed, California voters will be put on notice that this potential ban would write discrimination into the state's Constitution.

It's certainly not lost on most voters that the anti-gay marriage initiative is also a shameless tactic used by Republicans before to get voters to the polls. Recently, Arizona voters saw they were being played for fools by the Republicans and defeated a similar same-sex marriage ban.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Washington, DC's ban on handguns. The court's decision, whatever it may be, will likely set the tone for the gun control debate for years to come.

California conservatives are depending on the popular vote to advance their agendas, says theSacramento Bee. Four ballot campaigns, including a constitutionalamendment to ban gay marriage, have gathered nearly $9 million to date.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Clinton and Obama campaigns are exchanging new barbs, now on accountability and ethics. What is that phrase about a house divided...?

There's more...

Image courtesy Associated Press

by Elizabeth Cable [courtesy of Blog for America]

Trade is an issue which, relative to more prominent issues, many do not feel strongly about. It is an issue upon which the mainstream candidates from each of the major parties agree, so it can not be used as an issue to inflame voters with partisanship and get them to go to the polls to vote against the opposition party. Trade is quite unlike the issues of abortion, or gay marriage, or the War in Iraq, in that respect. However, I believe that Trade is a very important issue which affects all of our lives here in the United States on a daily basis. Specifically, whether the United States assumes the policies of Free Trade or of Fair Trade.

Free Trade between countries is essentially when there are no restrictions whatsoever at their borders when it comes to trade. There are no tariffs, regulations, fees, etcetera. With Free Trade, trade is free and open between countries, and companies are allowed to ship their products across the border at very little cost. The argument for this is that it will raise the economic level of countries on both sides of the border. On the other side of the coin, there is Fair Trade. Fair Trade is basically the opposite of Free Trade. In Fair Trade, there are tariffs and regulations at the border. Trade is not open and free between countries. The argument for Fair Trade is that it will protect the workers on both sides of the border.

(Click Read More for the rest of this post) 

by [courtesy of Blog for America]

Former Vice President of the United States (and true victor in 2000) Al Gore continues to amaze me! Wow! He just released a strong video statement in favor of gay marriage.

This past Monday’s debate has been criticized as focusing too much on personality and not enough on issues. I tend to agree and Senator Edwards (for whom I proudly voted last week) deserves credit for driving the dialog back toward substance.

Despite his efforts, though, an issue which has received inadequate attention is gay marriage.

Problem solved! Former Vice President Al Gore has endorsed it!

As you will see in the video below, Mr. Gore’s position is clear and I share it.

The reason I was among the first congressional candidates to receive the national endorsement of Progressive Democrats of America earlier this month is my full and complete support for all 7 tenets of the Progressive Agenda. One of them calls for an end to discrimination of every kind.