FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog

Today supporters of California Proposition 8 that restored the traditional definition of marriage (one man and one woman) to the California constitution filed a federal lawsuit which challenges the constitutionality of California’s campaign finance laws.

Acting on behalf of hundreds of supporters of Proposition 8 who have experienced various acts of harassment including death threats at the hands of opponents, the ProtectMarriage.com – Yes on 8 committee today filed a challenge in US federal court to the constitutionality of California’s campaign finance laws that compel disclosure of personal information of Prop 8 donors.

“There has been a systematic attempt to intimidate, threaten and harass donors to the Proposition 8 campaign,” said Ron Prentice, Chairman of ProtectMarriage.com. “This harassment is made possible because of California’s unconstitutional campaign finance disclosure rules as applied to ballot measure committees where even donors of as little as $100 must have their names, home addresses and employers listed on public documents. These disclosure rules violate the US constitution in numerous ways. We are standing up for our contributors to ensure that the harassment stops.”

This suit will test the rights of an individual’s freedom of speech versus the compelling state interest in assuring disclosure of campaign contributions to avoid corruption of the political process. the suit alleges the California Political Reform Act is unconstituional for a number of reasons:

• The right of contributors to exercise their First Amendment rights free from threats, harassment and reprisals outweighs the state’s interest in compelled disclosure;

• The Act’s requirements that committees report all contributors of $100 or more is unconstitutionally overbroad in violation of the First Amendment because it is not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest.
• The Act’s requirement for ballot measure committees to file any reports after the election is unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it is not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest.
• The Act is unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it does not contain a mechanism for purging all reports related to a ballot measure after the election has occurred.

If anything the $100 contribution level for disclosure appears to be inordintely low for this day and age. But, will the federal appellate courts tinker with a California Legislature’s limit or throw out the entire process in an internet era which makes “chilling” free speech easier?

Ultimately, the United States Supreme Court will weigh into these issues.

Stay tuned…….

California Proposition 8 supporters yesterday filed legal briefs in the ongoing battle in the California Supreme Court over the constitutionality of California Proposition 8 that restored the traditional definition of marriage (one man and one woman) by California Constitutional Amendment last November.

Gay-marriage opponents filed legal briefs Monday accusing California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown of having “invented an entirely new theory,” one that “fails at every level,” in his quest to find a reason to invalidate Proposition 8, which passed with 52% of the vote in November.

“The people have the final word on what the California Constitution says,” lawyers for the Protect Marriage Coalition wrote. “The practical result of the attorney general’s theory is that the people can never amend the Constitution to overrule judicial interpretations of inalienable rights.”

The filing, which was co-written by Whitewater prosecutor and Pepperdine Law School Dean Kenneth Starr, came in response to a brief filed two weeks ago by the attorney general in which Brown surprised legal experts with a novel theory to argue that Proposition 8 should be invalidated.

Brown’s theory, Starr wrote, is “utterly without foundation in this court’s case law” and “is not only unprecedented but contradicts the most basic understanding of the role of the judiciary in a constitutional democracy.”

The attorney general has a legal duty to uphold state laws, and Brown, though he personally supports same-sex marriage, had pledged to defend Proposition 8 after gay-rights activists and California cities filed lawsuits challenging it the day after the election.

But in a move that outraged supporters of Proposition 8 and took even gay-rights activists by surprise, Brown’s brief instead urged the court to toss the proposition, declaring that “the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification.” Brown argued that the California Constitution protects the right to marry as inalienable.

Legal experts said Starr and the Protect Marriage coalition had made a strong counter-argument in their filing Monday.

Santa Clara University Law professor Gerald Uelmen, an expert on the state high court, said it “hits the nail on the head.”

“If you think of the Constitution as a compact between the people and those who govern us, to say the people have no power to amend a court’s ruling simply because the court . . . says this is an inalienable right — I think that is pretty far out.”

All of the legal filings before the California Supreme Court are here.

The Protect Marriage Coalition legal brief in response to California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s brief is here (PDF).

The California Supreme Court will likely hear oral arguments in March and render a ruling sometime this late spring or early summer.

Stay tuned…….

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Jerry Brown, Kenneth Starr and California Proposition 8

Barack Obama has chosen the founder and senior Pastor at California’s Saddleback Church, Pro-Life, conservative Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. Warren is nationally acclaimed pastor and author of the New York Times bestselling “The Purpose Driven Life.” He previously announced  his support in favor of Proposition  8, California’s Protect Marriage Act that passed in November and restored the traditional definition of marriage (one man and one woman). 

Key Warren graph on marriage:

“For 5,000 years, every culture and every religion - not just Christianity - has defined marriage as a contract between men and women,” Warren wrote. “There is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2% of our population.”

But, the homosexual community is NOT happy.

The Human Rights Campaign and gay and lesbian activists are up in arms over the Obama transition team’s announcement that the Reverend Rick Warren has been selected to deliver the invocation at his inauguration in January.

The HRC sent a letter to president elect Barack Obama Wednesday expressing their disappointment in the selection of Warren.“Our loss in California over the passage of Proposition 8 which stripped loving, committed same-sex couples of their given legal right to marry is the greatest loss our community has faced in 40 years,” the letter reads. “And by inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table.”

Early in his campaign, Obama ran up against criticism from LGBT Americans for his inclusion of antigay political figures in his faith tour and on campaign stops. “Reformed gay” gospel singer Donnie McClurkin performed at an early event for Obama, drawing jeers from LGBT activists.

McClurkin has long claimed that God saved him from homosexuality.

Weeks later, the press latched on to Obama’s friendship with antigay minister James Meeks, from whom Obama had long claimed to seek regular “spiritual counsel.” This association led a number of on-the-fence LGBT voters to rally behind Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries.

Here is the text of the letter:

Dear President-elect Obama,

Let me get right to the point. Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans. Our loss in California over the passage of Proposition 8 which stripped loving, committed same-sex couples of their given legal right to marry is the greatest loss our community has faced in 40 years. And by inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table.

Rick Warren has not sat on the sidelines in the fight for basic equality and fairness. In fact, Rev. Warren spoke out vocally in support of Prop 8 in California saying, “there is no need to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population … This is not a political issue — it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about.” Furthermore, he continues to misrepresent marriage equality as silencing his religious views. This was a lie during the battle over Proposition 8, and it’s a lie today.

Rev. Warren cannot name a single theological issue that he and vehemently, anti-gay theologian James Dobson disagree on. Rev. Warren is not a moderate pastor who is trying to bring all sides together. Instead, Rev. Warren has often played the role of general in the cultural war waged against LGBT Americans, many of whom also share a strong tradition of religion and faith.

We have been moved by your calls to religious leaders to own up to the homophobia and racism that has stood in the way of combating HIV and AIDS in this country. And that you have publicly called on religious leaders to open their hearts to their LGBT family members, neighbors and friends.

But in this case, we feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination. Only when Rev. Warren and others support basic legislative protections for LGBT Americans can we believe their claim that they are not four-square against our rights and dignity. In that light, we urge you to reconsider this announcement.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese
President
Human Rights Campaign

Flap understands why the homosexual LEFT is upset.

Obama did name seven openly homosexual folks to his transition team but he has placed the issue of “gays in the military” on the backburner.

And, California African-American voters voted overwhelmingly in favor of California Proposition 8.

Now, Obama selects an anti-gay marriage Pastor to participate in the inauguration ceremony. It would be like President George W. Bush asking Barbara Streisand to speak at an RNC fundraising dinner.

But, Obama wants to be an inclusive President and irrespective of the homosexual community his voter base approves.

Exit questions: Will the radical gay marriage protesters that have marched against Mormon Churches, protested in front of Rick Warren’s church, harassed businesses and indviduals that supported Proposition 8, boycott or protest at Obama’s inauguration? Will they dare?

The Los Angeles Times had a column yesterday by Steve Lopez that documents the turmoil of a gay marriage opponent.

Well, Christoffersen was a manager at El Coyote, the Beverly Boulevard landmark restaurant that’s always had throngs of customers waiting to get inside. Many of them were gay, and Christoffersen, a devout Mormon, donated $100 in support of Proposition 8, the successful November ballot initiative that banned gay marriage.

She never advertised her politics or religion in the restaurant, but last month her donation showed up on lists of “for” and “against” donors. And El Coyote became a target.

A boycott was organized on the Internet, with activists trashing El Coyote on restaurant review sites. Then came throngs of protesters, some of them shouting “shame on you” at customers. The police arrived in riot gear one night to quell the angry mob.

The mob left, but so did the customers.

Sections of the restaurant have been closed, a manager told me Friday during a very quiet lunch hour. Some of the 89 employees, many of them gay, have had their hours cut, and layoffs are looming. And Christoffersen, who has taken a voluntary leave of absence, is wondering whether she’ll ever again be able to work at the restaurant, which opened in 1931 (at 1st and La Brea) and is owned by her 92-year-old mother.

OH those tolerant folks from the radical Homosexual Lobby - winning hearts and minds.

Intimidtion really works, now doesn’t it?

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California Proposition 8 Aftermath: Mormon El Coyote Restaurant Manager Quits

El Coyote Mexican Cafe Bullied Into $500 Donation to Homosexual Advocacy Group - JIZYA