Court Ruling Affirms Gay Marriage
Judge says ban
rooted in r
stereotypes,
prejudices
(AP) — A judge has struck down
California's same-sex marriage ban
as an unconstitutional violation of
gay couples' civil rights.
C h ie f U .S . D is tric t Ju d g e
Vaughn W alker overturned the
vo ter-approved ban know n as
Proposition 8 Aug. 4, declaring
that limiting marriage to a man and
a wom an serves no legitim ate
purpose and is an "artifact" rooted
in "unfounded stereotypes and
prejudices."
"Rather than being different,
same-sex and opposite-sex unions
are, for all purposes relevant to Cali­
fornia law, exactly the same," Walker
w rote in an un eq u iv o cal and
strongly worded 136-page ruling.
"The evidence shows conclusively
that moral and religious views form
the only basis for a belief that same-
sex couples are different from oppo­
site-sex couples."
While the ruling affects only
California, the appeal will go to the
sex marriage ban as unconstitutional.
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
which has jurisdiction over nine
Western states. The outcome there
eventually could force the U.S. Su­
preme Court to confront the ques­
tion of whether gays have a consti­
tutional right to wed.
Currently, same-sex couples can
legally wed only in Massachusetts,
Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, New
Hampshire and Washington, D.C.
Protect Marriage, the coalition of
religious and conservative groups
that sponsored Proposition 8 —
and wound up defending it in court
after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
and Attorney General Jerry Brown
refused to — immediately appealed
the decision.
Hundreds of same-sex marriage
supporters celebrated the verdict at
public gatherings in San Francisco,
West Hollywood and New Y ork City,
while acknowledging they have
watched court victories evaporate
before. California voters passed
Proposition 8 five months after the
state Supreme Court legalized same-
sex unions and an estimated 18,000
same-sex couples already had tied
the knot.
The 13-day trial was the first in a
federal court to examine if the U.S.
Constitution prevents states from
denying gays the right to wed.
Former U.S. Solicitor General
Theodore Olson teamed up with
David Boies to argue for the two
same-sex couples who brought the
suit, bringing together a pair of
litigators best known as adversar­
ies who respectively represented
George W. Bush and A1 Gore in the
disputed 2000 election.
Defense lawyers argued at trial
that the ban was necessary to safe­
guard the traditional understand­
ing of marriage and to encourage
responsible childbearing.
But in declaring Proposition 8
unconstitutional. Walker accepted
every argument advanced by the
plaintiffs and methodically rejected
every claim made by the defense.
Preventing gays from marrying does
nothing to strengthen heterosexual
unions or serve any purpose that
justifies its discriminatory effect, but
harms children with same-sex par­
ents and "the state's interest in equal­
ity," he wrote.
Hire to Lead Diversity Effort
Charged with
making PSU
more inclusive
administrative and business experi­
ence, including 10 years at Oregon
Health & Science University. She
currently serves as director of risk
management at OHSU and was pre­
viously the director of Affirmative
Action & Equal Opportunity. Prior
to OHSU, she served as civil rights
director at Tri Met.
She is the founder and chief ex­
ecutive officer of Our Family Adop­
tions, a humanitarian aid organiza­
tion providing resources to orphans
in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Portland State University has
appointed Jilma Meneses as the
college’s chief diversity officer, a
new position created to build a more
Jilma Meneses
inclusive, diverse campus.
"Diversity is a fundamental com­ to learn about how we practice and
ponent of the university's identity," live diversity.”
said Meneses. "It must be part of
Meneses has over 18 years of
our goals, performance reviews,
course work, and behavior. In order
to make it part of our campus cul­
THE LAW OFFICES OF
ture, we must also recruit, retain,
and develop high-performing fac­
ulty, staff, and students from di­
verse backgrounds. I look forward
to leading PSU in these efforts."
Meneses will support a wide
Attorney at Law
range of diversity-related programs
at PSU, including the office of diver­
1549 SE Ladd
sity and equity; the office of affirma­
tive action; and work in partnership
Portland, Oregon
with the office of the ombuds and
dozens of student groups.
Portland:
(503)491-5156
"We created this new position,"
Hillsoboro: (503) 615-0425
said Wim Wiewel, president of PSU,
Facsimile: (503) 244-2084
"because as a society and as an
Email:
Sweeney @ PDXLawyer.com
institution we all still have much
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