Did you know that overturning Roe v Wade could affect Gay Rights?

[AntiFascist]

”At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State.”
-- Planned Parenthood v Casey

<snip>

"Liberty protects the person from unwarranted government intrusions into a dwelling or other private places. In our tradition the State is not omnipresent in the home. And there are other spheres of our lives and existence, outside the home, where the State should not be a dominant presence. Freedom extends beyond spatial bounds. Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes freedom of thought, belief, expression, and certain intimate conduct. The instant case involves liberty of the person both in its spatial and more transcendent dimensions."

-- Lawrence v. Texas, which overruled Bowers

http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/mythoughtsdotrules/Roe.html

One of the primary fears of having Samuel Alito appointed to the Supreme Court is that this would throw off the balance of the court and likely pave the way for Roe v Wade to get overturned. If Roe v Wade gets overturned this could start a domino effect of other "liberty defining" precedents to get overturned as well. Any lurking Libertarians please note: this could affect you as well!

In the post 9-11 frenzy we are slowly seeing the erosion of human rights in many different sectors including everything from the right of the executive branch of the government to spy on Americans whenever it sees fit, to the right to torture and imprison individuals suspected of being terrorists. Anyone listening to Ann Coulter, Pat Robertson or other wacko pundits will know that activist liberals and members of the gay community are ever so close to being viewed in this way.

Do any of the older members of the gay community recall a time when it was under serious consideration the passing of legislation to place openly gay people in quarantines to prevent the spread of AIDS?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_64_(1986)

Are you aware that during WWII Japanese-Americans were rounded up and placed in internment camps? This is because the Supreme Court sided with the government:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_internment

Do you want to help prevent the last remaining branch of government from falling under control of right-wing Christians? Then go to the GD:Alito forum and start calling senators to support the filibuster.

[Maat]

1. Oh, sure, this J.D. understands (law degree).

If the right to privacy is decisively weakened ... well, it is a downhill slide from there .. straight to H*ll, in my humble opinion.

[rodeodance]

2. and in this case-the 'slippery sloop' is REAL>

[AntiFascist]

3. Thanks for your post, Maat!

Not having a law background myself, I tried to frame the argument the best way I could, but I'm sure there is a better way of explaining the issue. If someone cares to take a shot, please feel free.

[Maat]

4. I think you said what needs to be said.

But we can't kill ourselves over this, stress-wise.

We just make our best effort to keep the USA the country I was proud of ... some of what I'm most proud of seems to have slipped away ... I pray not permanently.