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Author Archive | Dale Carpenter
Debate with Maggie Gallagher, Round 467
This time we were debating a proposed amendment to the Minnesota state constitution banning same-sex marriages, although the focus was on the merits of same-sex marriage itself. The debate was held at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis and was hosted by the Terence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law and Public […]
“Harassment” of SSM Opponents in Washington State
By Dale Carpenter on October 19, 2011 12:45 am in Election Law, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, Same-Sex Marriage
Yesterday, in Doe v. Reed, Federal District Judge Benjamin Settle rejected an as-applied challenge on First Amendment grounds to a Washington state law requiring the public disclosure of the names of initiative signers. The initiative in question would have blocked the legislatively approved recognition of domestic partnerships. (The initiative made it onto the state ballot but […]
Frank Kameny, R.I.P.
Frank Kameny, whose name was practically a synonym for pioneering gay civil-rights leadership, died today at his home in Washington, D.C., at the age of 86. One news account summarized some of his work: Kameny’s beginnings in advocacy work came after he was fired from his job as an astronomer for the Army Map Service […]
Speaking Engagements This Week
On Tuesday I’ll be speaking to the student chapter of the Federalist Society at the University of Michigan Law School. I’ll present the conservative case for same-sex marriage, during the lunch hour. Visiting professor Steve Sanders will offer commentary after the speech. On Thursday I’ll be debating Maggie Gallagher on the proposed amendment to ban […]
Federalist Society Events This Week
By Dale Carpenter on September 26, 2011 10:16 am in Federalist Society, Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Marriage
This week I’ll be discussing same-sex marriage at two different student chapters of the Federalist Society. One is today at noon at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Tomorrow is at 12:30 at the University of Kansas School of Law in Lawrence. In both places, my sparring partner will be Dale Schowengerdt of […]
“This bill is about democracy”
That’s how the North Carolina state senator who’s sponsoring the anti-SSM amendment began his speech today. Others are citing “statistics” that show a married mother and father provide the best structure for raising children — though the studies compare opposite-sex couples to single parents, not gay parents. You can watch the debate live here. UPDATE: […]
N.C. Legislature Debating Anti-SSM Constitutional Amendment
You can watch it live here. It’ll be interesting to see whether supporters of the amendment make substantive arguments in opposition to same-sex marriage. Recently, they have emphasized only the desire to leave the issue to voters. UPDATE: The amendment passed the state house, 75-42. It moves to the state senate. SECOND UPDATE: A story […]
That day
The “Today” show was on as I dressed, preparing to go teach a First Amendment class. Then Matt Lauer interrupted an interview to show a gash, black and smoking, in one of the World Trade Center buildings. It was thought to be an accidental Cessna crash — a horrible thing but nothing you imagined you’d be commemorating ten years later. Transfixed […]
Symposium on Same-Sex Marriage
By Dale Carpenter on August 18, 2011 6:21 pm in Federalism, Gay Marriage, Religious Freedom, Same-Sex Marriage
This week and next, SCOTUSblog is hosting an online symposium on various aspects of the litigation challenging California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. The expected contributors are well-known combatants in the ongoing national debate over gay marriage: Carlos Ball, Bob Barr, Thomas Berg, Erwin Chemerinsky, David Cruz, William C. Duncan, John Eastman, William Eskridge, […]
R.I. Legislature Passes Civil Unions Bill
And manages to do what nobody else has done: unite supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage. Marriage Equality Rhode Island says it establishes “second-class citizenry.” The National Organization for Marriage says it is “disappointing and dangerous.” Caught in the middle were legislators, including the openly gay head of the state house, and Governor Lincoln Chafee […]
Gay Marriage Vote in N.Y. Senate Tonight?
It looks like a long-anticipated vote on whether to approve same-sex marriage will be held in the state senate, perhaps tonight. As of now, 31 of the 62 senators have publicly supported it. Two Republicans are counted among those 31, and the search has been on for at least one additional GOP vote. The price […]
Motion to Vacate Judge Walker’s Judgment Against Prop 8 is Denied
The proponents of Prop 8 sought to have Judge Vaughn Walker disqualified from ruling in the Prop 8 case. They argued that he had a substantial interest in the case because he was in an (undisclosed) long-term same-sex relationship and might seek to marry if SSM were permitted in California. Opinions in the blog commentariat […]
California Bankruptcy Court Holds DOMA Unconstitutional
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, in an opinion signed by 20 of the court’s 25 judges, has held that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally bars a married same-sex couple from filing a joint bankruptcy petition. The issue arose when the couple, one of 18,000 such […]
Civil Unions Begin in Illinois
By Dale Carpenter on June 1, 2011 1:57 pm in Civil Unions, Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Marriage, Uncategorized
They’re not quite registering June brides, but the joyous end of American civilization has legislatively spread to Cook County and the rest of the Land of Lincoln. Starting today, the state is granting all of the rights and privileges of marriage under state law to same-sex couples. With all the recent excitement in Minnesota over the effort to […]