Southern Equality

On March 26, 2013, a group of around 150 gathered on the beach in Gulfport MS for a bonfire and candle light vigil so that all Americans can enjoy equal rights. Currently the US Supreme Court is hearing debating on the issue of gay marriage.

The first person I introduced myself to was Sara Bell. In January, she and her wife tried to apply for a marriage license at the Forrest County Circuit Clerk office. They were denied. It was heartbreaking to her and the other stories at the vigil. All they want is the freedom to spend their lives legally with the person they love. Nine states have legalized same sex marriages.

And yet, because of DOMA, those marriages are not recognized by the federal government or other states in which same sex marriages are not legal.

How can we, as Americans, deny the right to marry to others? It wasn't so long ago that bi-racial marriages were considered immoral and a threat to "traditional" marriages.

Thanks to groups like Campaign for Southern Equality there was hope among those gathered at the vigil. I hope Rose and Lynn and the many other couples there will soon have equality.

It seems as though everyone in the South defends the 2nd Amendment loudly and argue against "Big Government" interfering in their lives. Well the DOMA Act and many state laws do just that. Those other amendments are just as important. The 14th Amendment reads thus:

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

It seems states like mine are denying equal protection to gays who wish to marry. It is time for this discrimination to end.

Supreme!

Today's ruling in upholding the Affordable Healthcare Act restores my confidence in the Supreme Court. I was so aggravated in their ruling on Citizens United which, to me effectively silences the voices of people like me who do not have millions to spend on elections. From my friend Dina on Facebook:

Words of Robert Kennedy "It seems that it is imperative that we reinstill in ourselves the toughness and idealism that guided the nation in the past.The paramount interest in self, in material wealth, in security must be replaced by an actual, not just a vocal, interest in our country, by a spirit of adventure, a will to fight what is evil, and a desire to serve.It is up to us as citizens to take the initiative as it has been taken before in our history, to reach out boldly but with honesty to do the things that need to be done." The Supreme Court answered the call!

Chief Justice Roberts was the determining factor and I feel that he and Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Ginsburg, & Breyer have done a awesome job of upholding our Constitution. Justices Alito, Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas seemed, in their dissent, to have put political rhetoric first.

In Defense of the 6th Amendment

Thank you Justice Scalia!

Legal experts and prosecutors are concerned about the results of last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires lab analysts to be in court to testify about their tests. Lab sheets that identify a substance as a narcotic or breath-test printouts describing a suspect's blood-alcohol level are no longer sufficient evidence, the court ruled. A person must be in court to talk about the test results.

The opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, has prosecutors and judges shaking their heads in disgust and defense lawyers nodding with satisfaction at the notion that the Constitution's Sixth Amendment guarantee that defendants "shall enjoy the right . . . to be confronted with the witnesses against him" is not satisfied by a sheet of paper.

"This is the biggest case for the defense since Miranda," said Fairfax defense lawyer Paul L. McGlone, referring to the Supreme Court ruling that required police to inform defendants of their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He said judges "are no longer going to assume certain facts are true without requiring the prosecution to actually put on their evidence."

Now do something about those laws which violate our 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendment rights.