She was my boss in 1992-93, when I clerked for the court. Among other things, don’t refer to the appellate panel as “you guys.”
Author Archive | Dale Carpenter
In Minnesota, We Shall Overcome
By Dale Carpenter on May 22, 2011 5:17 pm in Constitutional Law, Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Marriage, State Constitutional Law
Last night the Minnesota legislature capped a three-week end-of-session effort to ban same-sex marriage. The state senate approved the amendment on May 11. It then went to the state house of representatives. In the end, the vote was 70-62 in favor, two more than the 68 needed for passage onto the ballot. Sixty-eight Republicans (the […]
Live Video of Minnesota Marriage Amendment Debate
Today there’s a reasonable chance the Minnesota House of Representatives will be debating a proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Since the session ends Monday, such a debate would need to happen soon, if it is going to happen at all. With Republicans holding a 72-62 edge […]
In Minnesota, An Amendment Protecting Marriage But Not Marriages
On the floor of the state senate last week, the sponsor of an amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman was asked by a colleague how the amendment would protect her marriage: For the full context of the exchange between the senators, see here. The state senate then voted to […]
Growing Republican Opposition to a Minnesota Marriage Amendment
The GOP sweep in Minnesota last fall was a mile wide and an inch deep. A switch of a few hundred votes in a few key districts would have left the house and senate in Democratic hands. Republicans won on promises to balance the budget, limit taxes and spending, and make the state more business-friendly. Social […]
DOMA and Duty
Here’s my take on the K&S “kerfuffle,” Orin’s mot juste. I don’t disagree with much of what my fellow Conspirators have said, especially regarding the heavy-handed talk of boycotts and secondary boycotts. I don’t think we pull out the heavy artillery of a boycott of lawyers taking on causes and clients we despise except in the rarest cases, none of which […]
Must the Gays Support Labor Unions?
Tobias Wolff thinks so, going so far as to say that national gay organizations should now divert their meager resources away from relationship recognition and other anti-discrimination efforts in order to protect unions from evil Republicans. The basic idea is three-fold: (1) gays are like all Americans and Americans need unions; (2) unions have supported gays, […]
Does President Obama Now Support Gay Marriage?
In his election bid in 2008, President Obama explicitly stated several times that he opposed allowing same-sex couples to marry (“God is in the mix,” he once said), although he favored giving them all of the legal rights and protections of marriage through civil unions. At the same time, he also said he opposed efforts […]
DOJ: DOMA is Unconstitutional
The DOJ has just announced, in the context of two cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act in the Second Circuit, that it will no longer defend the law against constitutional attack. In a press release, the Attorney General announced: After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given […]
Do Prop 8 Proponents Have Standing to Defend the Law?
Today, at the request of the 9th Circuit, the California Supreme Court agreed to address the question whether there is anything in California law that would give the official proponents of Prop 8 standing in the federal case challenging it, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. The California court announced a briefing and oral argument schedule that will take us out […]
Student Evaluation of the Year
From last semester, a comment on the reading materials assigned for the course: “The pages of the casebook drain highlighters, not necessarily because there is a lot to highlight, but more because the paper is super absorbent.”
DADT Is History
The Senate voted 63-33 to cut off further debate on a bill already passed by the House to begin repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the ban on military service by gay men and lesbians. A final vote will be held soon. (Watch the final debate and vote here.) The president will sign the bill, which […]
Civil Unions in Illinois
Today the state legislature passed a civil unions bill (full text here), granting same- and opposite-sex partners all of the legal rights, obligations, and privileges of spouses under state law. The vote was 32-24 in the state senate today, following approval in the state house yesterday. The governor will sign the bill. There are a […]
“He’s big, he’s mean, and he kills lots of bad guys”: The DADT Report
The Pentagon has now released its 256-page report on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, called formally the “Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’” I won’t hide the ball. After reviewing tens of thousands of questionnaires and polling data from active duty service members, interviewing […]
Ninth Circuit Panel for Prop 8 Case
The panel hearing the Prop 8 appeal on December 6 will be Judges Stephen Reinhardt, Michael Daly Hawkins, and N. Randy Smith. It’s a good draw for opponents of Prop 8. The two issues on appeal are whether the Prop 8 proponents have standing to appeal and, if so, whether Judge Vaughn Walker correctly held […]