National
Cato legal analyst: DOMA is dead
Former GOP head, same-sex marriage advocate assess high court arguments in ‘Windsor’ case
The Cato Institute (Photo by Matt Bisanz via Wikimedia)
A senior fellow with the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank that supports LGBT equality, said comments by U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday lead him to believe the high court will strike down the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act known as DOMA.
Cato Institute senior fellow Ilya Shapiro, who attended Wednesday’s oral arguments at the high court, said the court’s four liberal justices would likely invoke the Constitution’s “equal protection” clause as grounds for overturning DOMA’s Section 3, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.
Shapiro said comments made by Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is considered the court’s swing vote on DOMA, indicate Kennedy would vote to strike down DOMA based on grounds that it violates “federalism” or states’ rights protections under the constitution.
Assuming Kennedy joins liberal leaning Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan in voting to declare Section 3 of DOMA as unconstitutional, the five would become a majority on the nine-member court needed to strike down that provision of DOMA, according to Shapiro.
“Assuming they get past the jurisdictional arguments it seems like DOMA Section 3 is not long for this world,” he said.
Shapiro gave his assessment on the justices’ views on DOMA at a Cato Institute forum Wednesday afternoon called Law, Politics, and Same-Sex Marriage.
Others panelists speaking at the forum included Walter Olson, a Cato Institute fellow, who served as moderator; Evan Wolfson, executive director of the same-sex marriage advocacy group Freedom to Marry; and Ken Mehlman, a York City businessman and former chair of the Republican National Committee.
Wolfson attended Wednesday’s Supreme Court oral arguments on DOMA as well as the arguments before the court one day earlier on California’s Proposition 8 case, which legal experts say could potentially lead to the legalization of same-sex marriage in all fifty states.
He told the forum that making predictions about how the court will rule on a case based on the justices’ statements and questions during oral arguments is highly speculative.
“I think you really need to take every prediction you hear and read and see tweeted and re-tweeted very, very skeptically,” Wolfson said. “The justices are going to go back and delve through a mountain of briefs in both cases, a huge amount of evidence and argument.”
While the outcome of both the Prop 8 and DOMA cases is uncertain, there are things marriage equality advocates know “very, very clearly,” Wolfson said.
“One thing we know is that while the justices are doing their homework in going through the process, the best single way we can maximize winning the freedom to marry and even getting the justices encouraged to do the right thing as they deliberate now in the court is to do what we’ve been doing, which is to continue winning in more states and to continue winning over more hearts and minds,” he said.
“There are as many as four states that are going to be considering or have begun considering freedom to marry legislation and could pass those bills into law before the court hands down its decision likely at the end of June,” Wolfson said. “So the single biggest thing we can do to maximize the chances of winning are to pass those marriage bills and to continue growing the extraordinary ‘who’s who’ of Americans that have stepped up the last many weeks and months in supporting the freedom to marry.”
Ken Mehlman (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Mehlman, who’s gay and who has emerged as an outspoken same-sex marriage advocate in recent years, said that aside from using sound legal arguments, marriage equality advocates have made important advances by putting a human face on the same-sex couples who want the right to marry.
“In my judgment, what has so galvanized the public is our stories,” he said. “These are real stories about real people and they make a gigantic difference.”
He said the numerous “friend-of-the-court” or amicus briefs filed in support of the marriage equality side by a wide range of organizations also shows how the breadth of support for same-sex marriage has greatly expanded.
The Cato Institute is among the groups that have filed an amicus brief in support of striking down DOMA.
“It’s not just that it is a large number,” he said of the groups and individuals filing amicus briefs. “It’s the cross section of society. It’s military leaders. It’s religious leaders. It’s business leaders. It’s Republicans and conservatives. It’s leaders of excellent think tanks — all making the case from their perspective and why it makes sense,” Mehlman said.
Federal Government
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
Agency proposing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking public comment on a proposed test of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the American Community Survey. The test would begin this summer and continue into next year.
The Census Bureau published the request as a Federal Register notice. In its press release the agency noted that the ACS is an ongoing survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. It allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
As part of the process for adding new questions to the ACS, the Census Bureau tests potential questions to evaluate the quality of the data collected.
The Census Bureau proposes testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to meet the needs of other federal agencies that have expressed interest in or have identified legal uses for the information, such as enforcing civil rights and equal employment measures.
The test would follow the protocols of the actual ACS — with one person asked to respond to the survey on behalf of the entire household. These particular questions are asked about people 15 years of age or older. Households are invited to respond to the survey online, by paper questionnaire or by phone.
The current Federal Register notice gives the public a final opportunity to provide feedback before the Census Bureau submits its recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The public may provide feedback through May 30 online.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
In a statement shared via the Human Rights Campaign, Shepard said, “This unexpected honor has been very humbling for me, Dennis, and our family. What makes us proud is knowing our President and our nation share our lifelong commitment to making this world a safer, more loving, more respectful, and more peaceful place for everyone.
“I am grateful to everyone whose love and support for our work through the years has sustained me.
“If I had the power to change one thing, I can only dream of the example that Matt’s life and purpose would have shown, had he lived. This honor reminds the world that his life, and every life, is precious.”
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
“Judy Shepard has been a champion for equality and President Biden’s choice to honor her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a testament to what she’s done to be a force of good in the world,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“A mother who turned unspeakable grief over the loss of her son into a decades-long fight against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and violence, Judy continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
“It is because of her advocacy that the first federal hate crimes legislation became law and that countless life-saving trainings, resources and conversations about equality and acceptance are provided each year by the Matthew Shepard Foundation,” Robinson said. “We are honored that Judy is a member of the HRC family and know that her work to create a more inclusive and just world will only continue.”
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
National
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
Delegates also voted for other LGBTQ-inclusive measures
The United Methodist Church on Wednesday removed a ban on gay clergy that was in place for more than 40 years, voting to also allow LGBTQ weddings and end prohibitions on the use of United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
Overturning the policy forbidding the church from ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” effectively formalized a practice that had caused an estimated quarter of U.S. congregations to leave the church.
The New York Times notes additional votes “affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.” Wednesday’s measures were passed overwhelmingly and without debate. Delegates met in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration, there were 5,424,175 members in the U.S. in 2022 with an estimated global membership approaching 10 million.
The Times notes that other matters of business last week included a “regionalization” plan, which gave autonomy to different regions such that they can establish their own rules on matters including issues of sexuality — about which international factions are likelier to have more conservative views.
Rev. Kipp Nelson of St. Johns’s on the Lake Methodist Church in Miami shared a statement praising the new developments:
“It is a glorious day in the United Methodist Church. As a worldwide denomination, we have now publicly proclaimed the boundless love of God and finally slung open the doors of our church so that all people, no matter their identities or orientations, may pursue the calling of their hearts.
“Truly, all are loved and belong here among us. I am honored to serve as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for such a time as this, for our future is bright and filled with hope. Praise be, praise be.”
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