The buzz has been building for weeks, and now it’s confirmed: the California Supreme Court might will be issuing their ruling on the legality of California’s Proposition 8 – which stripped California same-sex couples of the legal right to marry which had been afforded them only months before – as early as this Tuesday, May 26.
Well! It turns out a new national grassroots movement has already formed, and is ready to spring into action as soon as the Supreme Court’s decision is announced this week Tuesday… Portland, say hello to “Day of Decision!”
“Day of Decision” is organizing nearly 100 rallies across the U.S. and Canada Tuesday night, though the purpose is still unclear: if the Court overturns Prop 8, there will be cake and celebration! And it the Court upholds it, there could be throngs of angry queers taking to the streets.
Portland’s “Day of Decision” event is going down Tuesday, May 26 from 6 pm onward at the water fountain at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 1020 SW Naito Parkway, and is organized by a local lesbian couple who simply go by Amanda and Lena (they declined to provide further identification). When asked by e-mail why they were organizing the Portland rally, they responded:
This is our first time organizing something like this so please bare [sic] with us. The main reason we wanted to do this was to let the nation hear our voices and have everyone come together for the greater good. And yes, we are planning on starting between 6 and 630pm Tuesday.
More details on the planned rally, and interviews with the rally’s organizers, as soon as we’ve got them.
The buzz has been building for weeks? Okay. But they’ve actually officially announced that the decision is released tomorrow. So it’s not like this is a “just in case” plan. It’s out tomorrow, period.
Tuesday is the 26th.
What’s the point of forming rallies over a court decision? Courts need to respond to the law, not populism.
Rally in front of Congress instead, or the Cal legislature and the Governator.
Sorry for the error of date, it’s been corrected, and I’ve added a link to the CA Supreme Court site, too (I’d missed that before: thanks, b!X)
It’s not to influence the court. The events occur after the decision, and that decision has already been made. It’s to influence public opinion, create political pressure, organize – to do what any good demonstration does. This decision will not be allowed to have final say on whether gay people deserve equal treatment under the law. But I would also counter any notion that a supreme court applies a calculator to the law and comes up with the right answer without taking external factors into account. In fact, SCOTUS has often weighed how many states have made something legal or illegal to determine public opinion on an issue. Judges and their decisions don’t occur in vacuums.
I think the irritation springs from the fact that they should not be making decisions based on popular sentiment, especially if it runs counter to the law or the constitution. Supreme courts are one of the larger insurance policies against a potential tyranny by majority. The fact that they do on occasion check to see “if the cool kids are doing it yet” is not really a great comfort.
“popular sentiment” = democracy dude
Popular sentiment may be democracy but the legislative branch serves a function in our system, too, and part of that is protecting minorities whose rights may not be understood or recognized by the majority.
Let’s hope they knock that stupid Prop. down tomorrow.
This gay California boy just moved to Portland two weeks ago, and I have to say I’m quite pleased to see there’ll be a rally here this evening about an issue that went down in a whole other state. So thanks – makes me feel I made the right decision to relocate here.
jake: touchy, are we?