Tag Archives: David Boies

Federal Judge Strikes Down Virginia’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban, FRC’s Tony Perkins Gets The Vapors

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Virginia same sex marriage

District Federal Court Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen has struck down Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage:

The ruling was announced late Thursday evening. The order released around 10 p.m. stated the following:

“The Court finds Va. Const. Art. I, § 15-A, Va. Code §§ 20-45.2, 20-45.3, and any other Virginia law that bars same-sex marriage or prohibits Virginia’s recognition of lawful same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions unconstitutional. These laws deny Plaintiffs their rights to due process and equal protection guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

Wright’s 41-page ruling begins with a quote from Mildred Loving, made on the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia:

“We made a commitment to each other in our love and lives, and now had the legal commitment, called marriage, to match. Isn’t that what marriage is? …I have lived long enough now to see big changes. The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry. Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. …I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.”

Meanwhile Family Research Council hate group President Tony Perkins is having a serious case of the vapors:

“It appears that we have yet another example of an arrogant judge substituting her personal preferences for the judgment of the General Assembly and 57 percent of Virginia voters. Our nation’s judicial system has been infected by activist judges, which threaten the stability of our nation and the rule of law. This ruling comes on the heels of Attorney General Mark Herring’s refusal to fulfill his constitutional duty to defend the state’s marriage law. His lawlessness is an insult to the voters of Virginia who rightfully expected elected officials to uphold the laws and constitution of the state, not attack them as Herring has done.  An arrogant judiciary is only one of the major consequences of the drive to redefine marriage. Increasingly, Americans are being forced to finance and celebrate unions that not only step on free speech and religious liberty but also deny children a mom and a dad. Rather than live-and-let-live, this court by redefining marriage will create a level of inequality that has never been seen in our country as people are forced to suppress or violate the basic teachings of their faith.” – KKK-affiliated Tony Perkins.

Fuck you Tony.

And congratulations Virginia!

Marriage Equality Dream Team Olson & Boies Joins Lawsuit For Marriage Equality In Virginia

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Olsen and Boies

Hot off their marriage equality win with Prop 8 in California, Ted Olson and David Boies, will today join the Bostic v. Rainey, lawsuit in Virginia, a case challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriage which is also  expected to go to the Supreme Court

Washington Post:

The American Foundation for Equal Rights — with its attention-getting political odd couple of conservative Republican lawyer Theodore Olson and liberal Democrat David Boies — will announce Monday it is joining a lawsuit against what the lawyers called Virginia’s “draconian” laws prohibiting same-sex marriages, the recognition of such marriages performed where they are legal, and civil unions.

Olson and Boies were invited to join the case by attorneys for the plaintiffs, Norfolk residents Timothy Bostic and Tony London who were turned down for a marriage application.

Ted Olson who lives in the state calls it “an attractive target”

This will make for some delicious theater watching Olson and Boies mop the floor with Ken “Sodomy Law” Cuccinelli, if he is involved in the case.

 

 

Olsen and Boies File Brief On Behalf Of Plaintiffs In Prop 8 Case With Ninth Circuit Court Demanding That The Prop 8 Decision Stand

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Attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies filed a brief late yesterday to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals demanding that the ruling striking down Proposition 8 must stand.

“Fourteen times the Supreme Court has stated that marriage is a fundamental right of all individuals. This case tests the proposition whether the gay and lesbian Americans among us should be counted as ‘persons’ under the 14th Amendment, or whether they constitute a permanent underclass ineligible for protection under that cornerstone of our Constitution,” attorneys Theodore B. Olson and David Boies wrote in their filing. 

“Proponents and their amici now attempt to fill the evidentiary void they left in the district court with an avalanche of non-record citations, distortions and misstatements regarding the proceedings below, and baseless attacks on the good faith of the district court. The tactic is unfortunate, unbecoming and unavailing. The governmental interests Proponents assert have been affirmatively disavowed by California, or have no basis in reality, or both. The fact is, as the testimony of 19 witnesses and 900 trial exhibits introduced into evidence amply demonstrates, there is no good reason—indeed, not even a rational basis—for California to exclude gay men and lesbians from the institution of civil marriage, the most important relation in life.”

You really have to admire Ted Olsen and David Boies. 

Read the full introduction here or read the embedded legal documents after the jump

ProtectMarriage.Com’s Attorney Charles Cooper Lies At Prop 8 Trial

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ProtectMarriage.com’s attorney Charles Cooper blantantly lied yesterday and misquoted statistics during the first day of the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trail. (aka The Prop 8 Trial)

Cooper yesterday argue how legalizing same-sex marriage would lead to fewer marriages?  (Actually wouldn’t it lead to MORE marriages?)  And according to Nate Silver the data actually shows a clear trend that states that have not passed a state constitutional ban on gay marriage actually are the states that have a decline in divorce rates  These states saw their divorce rates decrease by an average of 8 percent between 2003 and 2008. States which had passed a same-sex marriage ban as of January 1, 2008, however, saw their divorce rates rise by about 1 percent over the same period.  Amd lets not forget Massachusettes where divorce levels have dropped to below WWII levels since they legalized gay marriage.

Now none of this actually is to say that gay marriage bans create divorce, but it’s worth pointing out just for the simple fact that Charles Cooper is blatantly lying and submitting false information to the court as evidence.