http://ramblingfisherman.com/img_4875/ Clearly, some of us are a little nail-bitey over the whole SCOTUS decision wait. We already did a Wanda Sykes TGIF Videofest a few weeks back, so it would be a mite repetitive to repost her classic routine about same-sex marriage, before she came out. Though you do have to see it right after this. Because it is comedy gold.
Instead, I thought I’d bring out Kate Clinton, another lioness of (lesbo, progressive, feminist, you name it) comedy, in a vlog she did immediately following Ninthth District Court of Appeals Judge Vaughn Walker’s finding, in early August, 2010, that the Proposition 8 runs afoul of the California (and US, for that matter) constitution. She makes reference to a reaming Rachel Maddow gave to the arguments in favor of Prop 8. My best guess at that piece of analysis appears below Kate.
And if you’ll indulge a little introductory preamble, reflecting on the odd way that time seems to be working on this debate. The proposition was voted in over four years ago, was found unconstitutional by federal court over three years ago, and was argued before the Supreme Court three months ago. This seems like an eon, particularly when we’re talking about it in online media (where “slow” = more than 24 hours, and “long” = more than 500 words). It has been fast-tracked, juridic
ally speaking. But the eventuality of a SCOTUS hearing on the question has been brewing since the late 1990s when Hawaii broke out of the pack to broach this issue. So this speedy court hearing on the con
stitutionality of state- and federal-level bans on family equality have been moving with the “all deliberate speed” of the courts. Which is plenty slow.
Likewise, though we feel like social support of family and marriage equality has spiked recently, but Nate Silver shows us otherwise. Look at the graph he’s got: no huge spikes there, over the course of 17 years. Instead, a long, slow, steady climb. Like all such civil rights climbs. I’m heartened by the adage that slow and steady wins the race.
And here’s what I think to be the Rachel Maddow analysis Kate refers to:
Tag your pics #villageq to be included in the family album at 
Just a clarification: Judge Walker sat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, not to be confused with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
I just got a huge frisson over that! Of course we now also expect you to weigh in on the whole FF&C question, now that you’ve outed yourself as legally literate (or perhaps just a more careful researcher than this reporter). 🙂