Gay marriage rights: Illinois prosecutors refuse to defend ban
Twenty-five Illinois couples were prepared for a long legal fight when they joined lawsuits challenging the state's ban on gay marriage. Turns out they won't get one — at least not from the attorneys who would normally be responsible for defending the state's laws.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez have refused to defend the 16-year-old ban, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, saying it violates the state constitution's equal protection clause.
The decision has raised eyebrows among some legal experts who believe prosecutors are legally bound to defend Illinois law, and sets up a scenario where a judge could quickly strike down the marriage statute. Supporters of the ban say it's unconscionable that there might be nobody in court to defend it, and some are strategizing over how to intervene....
Yes, one can't depend on moral climate not to change, perhaps not as fast as Nebraska weather but it does. In many cases though, whatever public morals are based on, people should realize they make societies functional. Religious dictatorships such as Islamic countries, (You know, the Inadequacy of Islam ) are disfunctional. A Theonomy without the physical presence of Christ is always evil. It's good that T. Jefferson pointed out there was a wall between Church and State, Reply to Danbury Baptist Association, it has been beneficial to both.
"And the moral climate keeps changing too. Our society has passed in thirty years from (1) a belief that abortion was a scandalous crime, not fit for public discussion, to (2) the belief that it should be tolerated in extreme cases, (3) to the belief that it is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, (4) to the belief that it is a fundamental human right, (5) to the belief that it should never be restricted even when it is indistinguishable from infanticide.
Similarly, homosexuality has moved from a position of (1) social scorn, to (2) toleration, to (3) special protection, to (4) persecution of its opponents. People whose attitudes toward homosexuality were the conventional wisdom of the 70s, now find themselves described as bigots, their views excluded from public discussion
Fifty years ago it was not uncommon to hear people describe America as a fundamentally Christian country. In the 1960s, the ACLU and other organizations opposed that view and stressed the Jeffersonian image of the "wall of separation" between church and state, an image not found in the U.S. Constitution, but placed there in effect by court decisions" (John M Frame)
Ah, I found this article interesting, not because of (in)actions which these attorneys should be fired for, but the Nebr. Attorney General had set a bad example for them. I am a little sad, however, he was so full of fire and brimstone when he thought he would get the Republican nomination for the Senate, and now nary a peep out of him since he lost his bid?
He's been a fairly good AG, but this inaction on his part is beginning to make me wonder if that is the only reason he became AG, as a stepping stone? I would certainly hope and really don't want to believe that. Besides Bob Kerry is at an age where he will at most be a one or two term U.S. Senator, and then he'll probably retire, so our AG has plenty of time to run for that office.
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shine on: "
john uk
sure, it is a great kindness to shine some light into a..."
