The fourteenth ammendment of the United States of America's Constitution states in part: (and no, I'm not picking and choosing parts of this ammendment to put together like forcing pieces of a puzzle together that do not match in support of my argument.)
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 any person in its jurisdiction the equal protection of law.
... (section 2 talks about appropriation of representatives of states and that each male of the age of 21 who is not a felon or has given aid or comfort to a rebellion against the United States or aided the enemy should be considered one whole person - a change in the fact that one black man was considered 3/5 of a person since the founding of our country.
(section 3 talks about how you can't be voted into office if you've been a part of a rebellion or given aid to a rebellion or enemies of the United States.
(section 4 talks about how the United States government will not pay off the debts the south incurred during the Civil war.)...
5. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
The Pledge of Allegiance says in full:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands; one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Today, Judge Vaughn Walker ordered that Proposition 8 (which was voted into California state law during the November elections in 2008) was unconstitutional. I would like to say it's about damn time. It is unconstititional to deny rights to any United States citizen based on race, creed, gender, or religious belief.
It saddens me that California thought it could vote on the rights of certain citizens. Rights are undeniable and inarguable. You can not deny someone right simply because they are different from you or because they believe in something you don't or live a lifestyle you don't.
I don't care what your beliefs on homosexuality are. I really don't. I'm not going to preach about my beliefs on homosexuality. The fact of the matter is that every citizen deserves the same rights since we all live in the same country and under the same Constitution. Matter of opinion is not a statement of fact and cannot be used in a trial in a United States court as evidence. I'm sorry, but "it should be illegal because I believe it's wrong" is not a legitimate legal argument.
I can't wait to see where this case goes. We all know that it will be appealed and will more than likely end up before the Supreme Court. I am very excited to see that gross injustice that was signed into law is now being overturned.
lindsayallison
