T-minus 1 hour until SCOTUS announces their decisions on DOMA and Prop. 8. I’m cautiously optimistic on DOMA, and afraid they will wimp out and use some bullshit standing argument to not decide Prop. 8.
You can follow the announcement of the decisions live at scotusblog.com – I’ll try to follow and update, but I may still be sleeping at 7 am PDT after the Tuesday night Texas Lege trainwreck. Share your thoughts and reactions below.
UPDATE:
9:55 EDT: Five minute buzzer
10:01 EDT: DOMA is dead! 5-4 by Kennedy. “DOMA singles out a class of persons deemed by a State entitled to recognition and protection to enhance their own liberty. […] The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity. By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others.”
10:11 EDT: SCOTUSblog says the dissent in DOMA implies they refused to take jurisdiction on Prop 8.
10:18 EDT: Scalia is reading his entire dissent from the bench, so we have a little time to spare. No word if Alito is rolling his eyes and sighing like he did yesterday when Ginsburg dissented from the Voting Rights Act decision.
10:26 EDT: Perry decision: Petitioners didn’t have standing to appeal to the 9th Circuit or SCOTUS. Northern District of California decision stands. “We have never before upheld the standing of a private party to defend the constitutionality of a state statute when state officials have chosen not to. We decline to do so for the first time here.”
10:30 EDT: Folks standing in line at San Francisco City Hall:
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