Bonanza!

May 16th, 2008

What a day yesterday was! Here’s four pieces of legislation to make you smile. I’ll get back to you with the weekend reads … but this should start your day on an optimistic note.

Jude

California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban
AP via NYT
May 15, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved gay marriage ban Thursday in a ruling that would make the nation’s largest state the second one to allow gay and lesbian weddings.

The justices released the 4-3 decision, saying that domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George. Justices Joyce Kennard, Kathryn Werdegar and Carlos Moreno joined the majority.

Outside the courthouse, gay marriage supporters cried and cheered as news spread of the decision.

In striking down the ban, the court said, “In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual’s sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.”

While agreeing with many arguments of the majority, Justice Marvin Baxter said in a dissenting opinion that the high court overstepped its authority. Changes to marriage laws should be decided by the voters, Baxter wrote. Justices Ming Chin and Carol Corrigan joined in dissenting.

The cases were brought by the city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples, Equality California and another gay rights group in March 2004 after the court halted San Francisco’s monthlong same-sex wedding march that took place at Mayor Gavin Newsom’s direction.

“Today the California Supreme Court took a giant leap to ensure that everybody — not just in the state of California, but throughout the country — will have equal treatment under the law,” said City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who argued the case for San Francisco.

The challenge for gay rights advocates, however, is not over.

A coalition of religious and social conservative groups is attempting to put a measure on the November ballot that would enshrine laws banning gay marriage in the state constitution.

The Secretary of State is expected to rule by the end of June whether the sponsors gathered enough signatures to qualify the marriage amendment, similar to ones enacted in 26 other states.

If voters pass the measure in November, it would overrule the court decision. ++

House Votes Against the War Supplement
~ from United for Peace and Justice

Please share this message as widely as possible…

In an amazing turn of events, the House of Representatives today voted AGAINST the supplemental funding for the war in Iraq!!

The bill would have provided $166 billion in war funding, the largest single provision since the war started in 2003. In a move that no one expected, dozens of Republicans voted “present,” which is the same as abstaining on the vote. This meant that the 149 NO votes were enough to defeat the bill. (141 votes were cast in favor.)

This is a tremendous victory for the antiwar movement. The hard work of people all around the country secured those 149 clear NO votes. Click here for the roll call to see how your representative voted.

But our work is far from over.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where we can expect an attempt to add the war funding back into the bill. After that, the bill will go to a conference committee, then back for a re-vote in both the House and the Senate. That means we need to keep up the pressure on both the House and the Senate.

Here’s what you can do:

1) If your member of the House voted NO on the funding call your rep (202-224-3121), say thanks and ask him or her to hold firm over the next few weeks.

2) If your member voted yes or present, call your rep (202-224-3121) and tell him or her to vote against any funding bill that might come before the House in the new few weeks.

3) We must all escalate our pressure on the Senate! Call your two senators (202-224-3121) and let them know how strongly you oppose further funding for this war! If you don’t know who your representative and senators are, click here.

4) Write letters to your local newspapers (call into radio talk shows, organize a vigil or picket in front of your senators’ local offices, or put together a non-violent civil disobedience action at their offices. Click here to find where their offices are located.

5) Get word out that parts of the 4 hours of Winter Soldier testimony that was delivered at a hearing organized by the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Capitol Hill this morning will be broadcast on the “News Hour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS) tomorrow evening! You can also watch the hearings on the C-SPAN website.

Let us claim this victory and at the same time push as hard as we can to stop the Senate from giving the green light on billions more of our tax dollars going into this war and occupation.

We urge you to take a moment right now to make a donation to UFPJ. We need your support to make sure we can keep doing this work in the strongest way possible.

Additional Information

Two other measures were passed in the House this afternoon. The first of those had some good provisions (no permanent bases, no use of torture), but also included a non-binding goal for the withdrawal of U.S. troops to be completed by December 2009.

This would keep our troops in Iraq for another year and half, and this timeline is only a goal. In other words, this doesn’t even come close to our call for all of the troops to come home now. The second measure that passed today would increase veterans benefits and provide funding for some important domestic needs.

We expect the Senate to vote next week. We would have predicted that they would put the war funding back into the measure, take out the conditions they don’t like (such as the goal for withdrawal), and make changes to the domestic funding package. Given the un-expected development in the House, all bets are off on what the Senate will do. After the Senate acts on the package, both chambers will negotiate and try to come up with a compromise, which will then go before both chamber for a re-vote.

Yours, for peace and justice,
UFPJ Legislative Working Group

Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ today. ++

Polar Bear Listed, Arctic Drilling Stopped
~ from United Wildlife Federation

Thanks in part to your actions, we’re celebrating two victories this week.

Tuesday, the Senate defeated an amendment to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and America’s coastlines to drilling by a vote of 42-56. Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued its decision to list the polar bear as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act…

The fight is by no means over. Despite the acknowledgement that the polar bear is threatened by global warming, the Bush administration insists the ruling can’t be used to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

“Polar Bear ‘Threatened’ Listing Comes with Strings Attached”

Until strong global warming legislation like the Climate Security Act is passed, polar bears and other Arctic wildlife will continue to be threatened by global warming and oil and gas development… ++

Historic Senate Vote Rejects FCC’s Rules
J Stearns, May 15th, 2008

In a near-unanimous voice vote tonight, the Senate passed a “resolution of disapproval” that would nullify the Federal Communications Commission’s latest attempt to dismantle longstanding media ownership limits.

Last December, the FCC voted to remove the “newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership” ban that prohibits one company from owning a broadcast station and the major daily newspaper in the same market. The resolution of disapproval (Senate Joint Resolution 28), introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), would nullify the FCC’s new rules if passed by Congress and signed by the president. The House version of the resolution was introduced by Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) in March.

Today, the Bush administration issued a statement opposing the resolution and threatening to veto it. The statement called the FCC’s new rules the product of “extensive public comment and consultation” but failed to mention that only 1 percent of public comments supported the administration’s position.

Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, which coordinates the StopBigMedia.com Coalition, made the following statement:

“Today’s historic Senate vote is a resounding victory for the vast majority of Americans who oppose media consolidation. We applaud the bipartisan leadership of Senators Dorgan and Snowe for acting in the public interest. But to stop Big Media from polluting our local airwaves with more junk journalism and propaganda, we need the House to move this legislation forward quickly.

“At this watershed moment, public outrage against Big Media has reached a breaking point. The Bush administration’s threats to undercut this bipartisan effort in Congress show how out of touch this president is with the will of the American people. But we’re not going to stand idly by and let the White House green light Big Media’s expansion. The great pendulum of political change is swinging away from corrosive consolidation and toward better media.”

Read the FCC’s cross-ownership order.

Learn more about the FCC’s new rules. ++

“So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin’ ass and celebratin’ the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.”
~ Molly Ivins, 1944 - 2007

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

Entry Filed under: Political Waves