Legal Implications Of Prop 8 on Churches and Schools

In a blog that seems to have been meant as a debate about Prop 8 that never quite finished, a 2nd year lawyer named Carolyn made some arguments about Prop 8, complete with footnotes:

I am not arguing that if Proposition 8 doesn’t pass, churches will be silenced at the pulpit or forced to change their religious creed. But when free exercise and equal protection collide—and they will—free exercise will get the short end of the stick. Marc Stern, a contributing editor of “Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts,” explains: “[N]o one seriously believes that clergy will be forced, or even asked, to perform marriages that are anathema to them. Same-sex marriage w[ill], however, work a sea change in American law. That change will reverberate across the legal and religious landscape in some ways that are today unpredictable.”

Take education, for instance. In Massachusetts, the state Supreme Court—not a vote of the people—redefined marriage just as occurred in California. In 2007, a Massachusetts elementary school began teaching kindergarten and first grade children about same-sex marriage using a book which told the story of a prince who “lived happily ever after” with another prince. (*I’m not commenting on the quality of the story here, just the legal outcome*). Some parents requested that their children be allowed to opt-out of such instruction until the seventh grade. They did not challenge the use of the book as part of the school’s curriculum. When the school district refused to let the children opt-out, the parents sued in federal court.

They lost. In a 47-page opinion, the First Circuit held that the parents’ right to choose traditional marriage education for their child was not protected by the First Amendment because same sex marriage was permitted by Massachusetts law. Free exercise could not justify legal exemption where due process and equal protection rights were in play.

A similar outcome is not only possible in California, but likely. California’s Supreme Court has already mandated same sex marriage under the law, and unless voters amend this law in November, the court decision stands. California schools would be authorized to teach the same sex tenets of California policy. And it is not difficult to imagine a same sex curriculum under the Education Code which requires schools to teach children about marriage from kindergarten forward.

When First Amendment rights are pitted against Fourteenth Amendment due process, somebody will get hurt. This is not a Chicken Little prophesy. It is a legally-recognized fact.

Is Prop 8 A Civil Rights issue?

What's the Truth about Prop 8 and Schools?

As promised, Hedgehog Blog has posted more about Prop 8, this time posting A Primer on the Falsehoods About Prop 8 and California's Schools.

His post answers this question:

Perhaps the most hotly-debated question about Proposition 8 is the measure's impact on schoolchildren. If Proposition 8 fails, will young children be taught that same-sex marriage is equal to traditional marriage?

Proposition 8 in plain english

Another Youtube Video about the issue.

How Teachers Can Get A Dues Refund After CTA Contribution

You've probably heard that the California Teachers Association donated $1 million to the NO on 8 campaign.

State Assembleyman Chuck DeVore has written an Op-ed about the matter here.

He also suggests that teachers go find out how to get a $300 refund from their dues for non-bargaining expenses like this one.

Seen at The Chair.

Video About Mass. Classroom Case

Here's a video with an interview with a family involved in a Massachusetts classroom case.

Prop 8 and Children

Protecting Marriage to Protect Children.

That's the name of an article written by a self-proclaimed liberal democrat that was published in the L.A. Times back in September.

If you haven't checked it out yet, go and do. It's a must-read about why Prop 8 is about children.

Marriage (and only marriage) unites the three core dimensions of parenthood – biological, social and legal – into one pro-child form: the married couple. Marriage says to a child: The man and the woman whose sexual union made you will also be there to love and raise you. Marriage says to society as a whole: For every child born, there is a recognized mother and a father, accountable to the child and to each other.

Legal Implications of Prop 8

There's a good post over at the Hedgehog Blog about the legal implications of Prop 8.

The fact is, if Proposition 8 is not passed and the California Supreme Court's decision is allowed to stand, there will be consequences. This is undeniable. What also seems certain is that we cannot be certain what those consequences will be. The Parker v. Hurley scenario is only one possible consequence.

They say they'll be posting more in the days to come.

Will Prop 8 Cause Gay Marriage Be Taught In California Schools?

Actually, it already has.

(Via Hugh Hewitt)

Yes on 8: It's Already Happened

The "No on Prop 8" ads are saying that it's a lie that Prop 8 would cause same sex marriage to be taught in public schools.

So the Yes on 8 folks have put out an ad saying that not only can it happen, it did. Gay marriage is legal in one state already, and we can see the facts of what happened there.

Here's the National School Board Association's discussion of the case.