Petulant Malice, or, What Bobby Jindal Calls Leadership
The punch line is that this is the third decision in, what, like, a week, making the point:
And this guy is preparing to launch a presidential bid.
In September, I found myself cheering for a judge in Lafayette County, Louisiana; the Rubin Pathway↱ realized the most basic course through the Gay Fray. Before the Sixth Circuit decided to send Obergefell v. Hodges and three other cases to the United States Supreme Court, there was Costanza v. Brewer, a simple intrafamily adoption.
But the backstory is fascinating. As it happened, some weeks before a federal court in New Orleans had upheld Louisiana's gay marriage ban. Judge Martin L.C. Feldman wrote an astoundning ruling, basing the state's interest in "linking children with intact families formed by their biological parents". You know? What a fucking prig, going after adopting families in order to find a reason to be mean to gay people. Robicheaux v. Caldwell was a disaster.
Shortly after, it also happened that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was in Minnesota, hanging out with law students, and someone asked her the obvious question about the Supreme Court and gay marriage; her response was that the federal courts had the situation well in hand, and she didn't foresee getting involved unless someone screwed up.
That, of course, would be the Sixth Circuit, which needed to effectively recriminalize homosexuality in order to justify itself.
But there was this lower federal court ruling, from Judge Feldman. The irony of Costanza being an intrafamily adoption case? Oh, the Rubin Pathway is a marvel. I mean, just seeing a judge finally write it down? And then, of course, while Feldman tried to say the marriage ban was okay by federal standards, a Louisiana judge cleared his throat and pointed out it didn't even meet state standards.
Yeah. I enjoyed that paragraph.
Robicheaux was an embarrassing decision.
____________________
Notes:
Adelson, Jeff and Marsha Shuler. "5th Circuit Court tells Louisiana to recognize same-sex marriages; Jindal administration still balks". The Advocate. 2 July 2015. TheAdvocate.com. 3 July 2015. http://bit.ly/1Kw4xDl
The punch line is that this is the third decision in, what, like, a week, making the point:
But while Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration previously had said it was waiting on that 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling before recognizing same-sex marriages, top state officials dug in their heels Wednesday and said they wouldn't change course until a district court orders them to do so.
That only widens the gap between the administration and the reality on the ground across the state. Clerks or other officials in nearly all parishes have now said they will issue licenses to same-sex couples, even as Jindal administration officials continue to tell state agencies to hold off on accepting them as valid.
The administration's delay in accepting the Supreme Court's ruling may be behind another point of conflict that cropped up on Wednesday as members of newly married same-sex couples seeking to change the name on their driver's licenses to reflect their union found their efforts thwarted by the Office of Motor Vehicles.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit appeared to address the administration's stalling.
The Supreme Court's ruling is “the law of the land and, consequently, the law of this circuit and should not be taken lightly by actors within the jurisdiction of this court,” the ruling said.
“We express no view on how controversies involving the intersection of these rights should be resolved but instead leave that to the robust operation of our system of laws and the good faith of those who are impacted by them.”
The panel then ordered district judges who have overseen cases involving same-sex marriage, including U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans, to issue final judgments in their cases legalizing and recognizing same-sex marriage by July 17.
Normally that ruling, and any judgments that come from the lower courts, would be largely procedural measures now that the Supreme Court has decided the issue. And, indeed, that's how they have been treated in most of the country, where clerks began issuing licenses immediately after Friday's ruling.
But Jindal administration officials have said they won't comply until forced to do so. While they initially pointed to the 5th Circuit's decision as the event that would fully grant gay marriage rights in Louisiana, they changed course after the ruling was handed down and said they would continue to follow the state constitution's ban on same-sex marriages until forced to do so by a lower court.
(Adelson and Shuler↱)
That only widens the gap between the administration and the reality on the ground across the state. Clerks or other officials in nearly all parishes have now said they will issue licenses to same-sex couples, even as Jindal administration officials continue to tell state agencies to hold off on accepting them as valid.
The administration's delay in accepting the Supreme Court's ruling may be behind another point of conflict that cropped up on Wednesday as members of newly married same-sex couples seeking to change the name on their driver's licenses to reflect their union found their efforts thwarted by the Office of Motor Vehicles.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit appeared to address the administration's stalling.
The Supreme Court's ruling is “the law of the land and, consequently, the law of this circuit and should not be taken lightly by actors within the jurisdiction of this court,” the ruling said.
“We express no view on how controversies involving the intersection of these rights should be resolved but instead leave that to the robust operation of our system of laws and the good faith of those who are impacted by them.”
The panel then ordered district judges who have overseen cases involving same-sex marriage, including U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans, to issue final judgments in their cases legalizing and recognizing same-sex marriage by July 17.
Normally that ruling, and any judgments that come from the lower courts, would be largely procedural measures now that the Supreme Court has decided the issue. And, indeed, that's how they have been treated in most of the country, where clerks began issuing licenses immediately after Friday's ruling.
But Jindal administration officials have said they won't comply until forced to do so. While they initially pointed to the 5th Circuit's decision as the event that would fully grant gay marriage rights in Louisiana, they changed course after the ruling was handed down and said they would continue to follow the state constitution's ban on same-sex marriages until forced to do so by a lower court.
(Adelson and Shuler↱)
And this guy is preparing to launch a presidential bid.
‡
In September, I found myself cheering for a judge in Lafayette County, Louisiana; the Rubin Pathway↱ realized the most basic course through the Gay Fray. Before the Sixth Circuit decided to send Obergefell v. Hodges and three other cases to the United States Supreme Court, there was Costanza v. Brewer, a simple intrafamily adoption.
But the backstory is fascinating. As it happened, some weeks before a federal court in New Orleans had upheld Louisiana's gay marriage ban. Judge Martin L.C. Feldman wrote an astoundning ruling, basing the state's interest in "linking children with intact families formed by their biological parents". You know? What a fucking prig, going after adopting families in order to find a reason to be mean to gay people. Robicheaux v. Caldwell was a disaster.
Shortly after, it also happened that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was in Minnesota, hanging out with law students, and someone asked her the obvious question about the Supreme Court and gay marriage; her response was that the federal courts had the situation well in hand, and she didn't foresee getting involved unless someone screwed up.
That, of course, would be the Sixth Circuit, which needed to effectively recriminalize homosexuality in order to justify itself.
But there was this lower federal court ruling, from Judge Feldman. The irony of Costanza being an intrafamily adoption case? Oh, the Rubin Pathway is a marvel. I mean, just seeing a judge finally write it down? And then, of course, while Feldman tried to say the marriage ban was okay by federal standards, a Louisiana judge cleared his throat and pointed out it didn't even meet state standards.
The panel then ordered district judges who have overseen cases involving same-sex marriage, including U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans, to issue final judgments in their cases legalizing and recognizing same-sex marriage by July 17.
Yeah. I enjoyed that paragraph.
Robicheaux was an embarrassing decision.
____________________
Notes:
Adelson, Jeff and Marsha Shuler. "5th Circuit Court tells Louisiana to recognize same-sex marriages; Jindal administration still balks". The Advocate. 2 July 2015. TheAdvocate.com. 3 July 2015. http://bit.ly/1Kw4xDl
