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Sunday, July 25, 2004
Law - More on Rep. Hostettler Proposal
Both the Louisville Courier-Journal and the New York Times today have editorials on Indiana Congressman John Hostettler's proposal that would bar federal courts from ruling on state bans on gay marriage. See the earlier Indiana Law Blog entry here.
The Courier-Journal piece is headlined "Kentucky delegation betrays Constitution for gay marriage hysteria." Some quotes:
What Northup, Chandler, Hostettler and all the other representatives from Kentucky and Southern Indiana (except the courageous Baron Hill) voted to do is radical. If the bill in question were to become law, it would undermine the authority of the high court to declare acts of Congress, and by implication acts of the president, unconstitutional. Those whom the courts have protected against laws that discriminate in some unconstitutional way will see the danger posed by H.R. 3313.The Times editorial is titled "A Radical Assault on the Constitution." Some quotes:
Majorities that are frustrated when courts stand up for minority rights have occasionally tried to strip them of the power to do so. This week, the House voted to deny the federal courts the ability to decide a key constitutional issue involving gay marriage. Such a law would upset the system of checks and balances and threaten all minority groups. It is critical that the Senate reject it. * * *The House's solution, stripping the federal courts of power, is one that opponents of civil rights and civil liberties have been drawn to in the past. Opponents of court-ordered busing and supporters of school prayer tried it. But even at the height of the backlash against the civil rights movement, Congress never passed a law that completely insulated a federal law from Supreme Court review.
This radical approach would allow Congress to revoke the courts' ability to guard constitutional freedoms of all kinds. And although gays are the subject of this bill, other minority groups could easily find themselves the target of future ones.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 25, 2004 03:41 PM
Posted to General Law Related