House to Vote on Stripping Federal Courts of Jurisdiction Over Gay Marriag

[Cannikin]

WASHINGTON (AP) - No federal court has ruled on state bans on gay marriage, and House Republicans want to make sure none does.
The House was considering legislation Thursday to keep the Supreme Court and other federal courts from ordering states to recognize same-sex unions sanctioned elsewhere.

Continuing their election-year focus on gay marriage, Republican leaders expect the measure to pass easily. Last week, the Senate dealt gay marriage opponents a setback by failing to advance a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex unions.

The Marriage Protection Act would strip federal courts of their jurisdiction to rule on challenges to state bans on gay marriages under a provision of a 1996 federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

"Today, it's gay marriage. Tomorrow, it could be something else. It's very dangerous for any Congress to move down this road," said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a civil rights leader.

continued
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBJSIJGYWD.html

[aquart]

1. Any chance of passing the Senate?

I am always awed at the garbage Congress will pass in order to LOOK like it's doing something useful.

[roguevalley]

2. The Constitution allows no state or other entity to make a law that

abridges the Constitution. This has a snowballs chance. Don't worry. Our founders were reams smarter than these yahoos. Just sit back and give them the scorn they so richly deserve. Their actions are unconstitutional.

[Cannikin]

3. I hope so...

"Nadler said he believes the legislation is unconstitutional, but legal scholars said the constitutional question of stripping jurisdiction from federal courts is unresolved.

"My sense is that Congress has explicit authority in the Constitution ... but it is a largely unexercised power," said Douglas Kmiec, a Pepperdine University constitutional law professor and former legal adviser to Republican presidents.

[lapfog_1]

5. Kmeic

from Pepperdine... that would be the same Pepperdine that hired
Ken Starr to be President, and has Scaife on their Board...
I wouldn't listen to anything they have to say, if this was something
the Democrats wanted to pass, I'm sure you would hear the same guy
screaming about the unconstitutionality of the proposed law, and
states rights and full faith and credit and so on.

[Democat]

4. If they want to start a war, they better be careful

Eventually we will have the power back and we should use every power they have and more.

Every time they bend a rule, they better be ready for that to be used back on them once Kerry takes over.

[jpgray]

6. I'm so glad that Kerry did NOT vote for the DOMA (nt)

[no_hypocrisy]

7. I think this is part of a bigger agenda: to limit access to the courts

for social and economic redress in general. The republicans in Congress and the Senate are testing their wings with a few "popular" bills.

Don't kid yourselves. They have a laundrylist of issues they don't want federal courts to hear: prayer in public schools, the Ten Commandments in schools and courthouses, federal funding of religious private schools and churches, personal injury, products liability, and more, much more. This way there will be an illusion of the three branches of government and a constitutiional republic. It will devolve into a fascist state. (It's a page from Hitler's playbook in the early 1930's to limit jurisdiction of the courts to hear cases.)

[Cannikin]

8. kick

[Cannikin]

9. Keepin' it kicked

[bhunt70]

10. The Law Sector is laughing at this.

Trying to circumvent another branch of the government is seen as nothing more than a political ploy by a lot of people.

I don't think it will pass.

[NewJeffCT]

11. Now, weren't most Federal Judges appointed by Republicans?

I'm just guessing that considering that in the last 36 years, we've had 24 years of Republicans (including at least 12 years that were extremely Right Wing) and 12 years of Democrats, 8 of which were a moderate Democrat.

And, weren't most of those activist judges in Mass appointed by Republican governors?

[Cannikin]

12. kick

[thecrow]

13. I had said this wasn't about gay marriage

The debates I heard about gay marriage (beyond the box turtle thing and other nonsense) I heard as being about the courts!
I was very shocked that this was an underlying (no pun intended) thing.... it was about the courts!