This week marks the anniversary of the Iowa Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage. The ruling touched off a sometimes rancorous political debate that promises to continue for years to come. I have heard some say that Iowa and our country are not ready for this debate. I have to agree that the marriage question has brought out the worst in some people, but it also has shown us at our best. I recognize gay marriage makes some people uncomfortable, but the time to end marriage discrimination in this country is now.
Perennial gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats has built the foundation for his campaign on the issue. The Iowa Republican puts it this way, “For much of 2009, Bob Vander Plaats focused on one issue – gay marriage.” For an entire year, nothing was more important to him. And, political rhetoric, some of it absurd, has not been confined to Iowa. J.D. Hayworth, Senator John McCain’s opponent in Arizona, drew a bizarre picture that same sex marriage is a step toward a man being able to marry his horse. Four time Iowa governor and returning candidate Terry Branstad has found it difficult to juggle this issue at all, stumbling over it numerous times.
Branstad and some who are even more vocal about ending same sex marriage are trying to build a case for letting the people decide by forcing a statewide or national vote on marriage. There is much hot air about how letting the Supreme Court ruling stand without a Constitutional question being put to the voters is tantamount to creating a judicial oligarchy. They argue the people should decide. When you take two steps back from this argument, it is laughable. The Iowa Legislature passed a law that defined marriage as one man and one woman. The people never voted on it. Last April, the Court found this legislative action to be in conflict with the Iowa Constitution.
It is not that the question of marriage is so big that it demands a vote of the people. What is at stake is bigger than marriage, something more important than an issue to be decided by a simple and single vote of the people.
This week, Governor Chet Culver made his strongest statement on the matter to date. He said a vote was unnecessary. “I think the overwhelming majority of Iowans do not want to amend our constitution in such a way that’s discriminatory. That’s the bottom line,” explained Culver. He was trying, I guess, but this statement proves the Governor also misunderstands this issue. It has nothing to do with the latest public opinion survey.
Our state and national constitutions were established on the most basic of underpinnings, we are equals. We are entitled to the same rights and protections under the law. There is no litmus test to determine who among us is ‘more equal,’ who among us is be entitled to own property, speak freely, or get married.
I got to marry the person I love, the person I chose to marry and the person who chose to marry me. No law or constitutional amendment can be written to say two other people can be denied the same ability because they share the same type of human plumbing, for doing so would violate the most basic tenet of our state and national constitutions. We are equals. Our sex, sexual orientation, religion, color, political belief and any other thing that makes us who we are cannot change that fact. If our Legislature passes a law that says differently, it violates our Constitution and should be struck down. If a ballot measure is passed by the electorate that says one segment of our population is not entitled to the same rights as another, the Court should invalidate it. If we say that it is OK for one couple to marry because they are straight, but it is unacceptable for another to marry because they are gay, we invalidate the very Constitution which created Iowa and the one that formed the greatest country on earth.
Tomorrow, many will gather to celebrate the Iowa Supreme Court ruling on marriage. I wish them well, but I hope they will pause for a moment in their revelry to realize that this is not a gay issue. This is not about marriage. This is about equality for all.
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.
Showing posts with label John McCain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John McCain. Show all posts
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Partisan Rancor Places Common Good in Harm’s Way
Partisan wrangling has long been a part of the American landscape. Maybe it is natural, but it looks more and more to me like a blight threatening the healthier parts of democracy.
Today, Senator John McCain led his fellow Republican Senators in criticizing the Obama administration for deciding to let the federal courts charge the man accused of trying to bring down a passenger jet bound for Detroit on Christmas Day. I am assuming Senator McCain would prefer the accused be hauled off to Guantanamo without a trial. McCain called the decision to prosecute suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in civilian courts a “terrible, terrible mistake.”
Justice served is never a mistake, Senator.
Listen, I want the bomber to pay a price for his crime. Like Senator McCain, I also want all the other idiots out there who are in league with the bomber to know we are coming after them. To that end, I want to give our military, law enforcement and courts the tools they need to bring these guys to justice when they catch them. And, let me be clear, I am talking about justice as the word is defined, not as the loaded word it has become because Senator McCain and the cowboys we see in movies see justice as synonymous with revenge.
Justice; 1) fairness or reasonableness, especially in the way people are treated or decisions are made 2) the legal system, or the act of applying or upholding the law
Revenge; 1) the punishment of somebody in retaliation for harm done 2) something done to get even with somebody else who has caused harm
We Americans have developed a system of governance based on fairness and respect for human rights. Granted, we often fall short in carrying this out, but we still tend to a better job than everybody else in the world and we should never stop trying to do better. If we give up pursuing justice and abandon our legal system because we are angry and want simple revenge, the terrorists will have stolen one of our most valuable possessions. We will have taken a step closer to being like them, zealots who believe they have the right to kill, maim and imprison at will in the name of their cause.
The United States courts are perfectly capable of handling the underwear bomber case and meting out justice. They did so in the case of Richard Reid. In 2003 the so-called shoe bomber and self-admitted member of Al Qaeda was convicted by a U.S. federal court and sentenced to life without patrol for attempting to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes. The underwear bomber deserves the same, but my opinion on that doesn’t matter. What matters is that our courts have the ability to do the job. Senator McCain needs to climb down off his political soapbox and let them do so.
The reason Senator McCain and other Republicans who were silent about the federal court handling the trial of the shoe bomber in 2003 are voicing objections in this case is to score political points against a Democrat President. This political game playing is disappointing coming from men and women who so proudly wear patriotism on their sleeves and it tarnishes America’s image. Let’s cut the politics, embrace justice and focus our efforts on rooting out the evil people who are out to do us harm.
The best course to beating the terrorists and tyrants of the world is the one that seeks justice and steers clear of retribution without righteousness.
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.
Today, Senator John McCain led his fellow Republican Senators in criticizing the Obama administration for deciding to let the federal courts charge the man accused of trying to bring down a passenger jet bound for Detroit on Christmas Day. I am assuming Senator McCain would prefer the accused be hauled off to Guantanamo without a trial. McCain called the decision to prosecute suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in civilian courts a “terrible, terrible mistake.”
Justice served is never a mistake, Senator.
Listen, I want the bomber to pay a price for his crime. Like Senator McCain, I also want all the other idiots out there who are in league with the bomber to know we are coming after them. To that end, I want to give our military, law enforcement and courts the tools they need to bring these guys to justice when they catch them. And, let me be clear, I am talking about justice as the word is defined, not as the loaded word it has become because Senator McCain and the cowboys we see in movies see justice as synonymous with revenge.
Justice; 1) fairness or reasonableness, especially in the way people are treated or decisions are made 2) the legal system, or the act of applying or upholding the law
Revenge; 1) the punishment of somebody in retaliation for harm done 2) something done to get even with somebody else who has caused harm
We Americans have developed a system of governance based on fairness and respect for human rights. Granted, we often fall short in carrying this out, but we still tend to a better job than everybody else in the world and we should never stop trying to do better. If we give up pursuing justice and abandon our legal system because we are angry and want simple revenge, the terrorists will have stolen one of our most valuable possessions. We will have taken a step closer to being like them, zealots who believe they have the right to kill, maim and imprison at will in the name of their cause.
The United States courts are perfectly capable of handling the underwear bomber case and meting out justice. They did so in the case of Richard Reid. In 2003 the so-called shoe bomber and self-admitted member of Al Qaeda was convicted by a U.S. federal court and sentenced to life without patrol for attempting to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes. The underwear bomber deserves the same, but my opinion on that doesn’t matter. What matters is that our courts have the ability to do the job. Senator McCain needs to climb down off his political soapbox and let them do so.
The reason Senator McCain and other Republicans who were silent about the federal court handling the trial of the shoe bomber in 2003 are voicing objections in this case is to score political points against a Democrat President. This political game playing is disappointing coming from men and women who so proudly wear patriotism on their sleeves and it tarnishes America’s image. Let’s cut the politics, embrace justice and focus our efforts on rooting out the evil people who are out to do us harm.
The best course to beating the terrorists and tyrants of the world is the one that seeks justice and steers clear of retribution without righteousness.
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.
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