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Current mood:  determined Category: Life
TO: Mark Shurtleff, Attorney General of the State of Utah
CC: Equality Utah
Dear Sir,
When so-called "recognition lawsuits" are filed in Utah to force our state to recognize marriages between people of the same gender that have been legally contracted in California, I hope you will recognize that it is your duty, as Attorney General of Utah, to see that the Federal Constitution (which supersedes Utah's own, and to which you and the laws and government of this state are subject) is upheld; and that Utah's statutory refusal to recognize such marriages is a violation of the Constitution of these United States, insofar as it refuses to give full faith and credit to a marriage contracted in another state. It would be a waste of time and resources to pretend otherwise, and wait for the US Supreme Court to affirm this (along with the failure of the federal so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" to pass the same test), rather than issuing a clear and uncompromising statement of your official legal opinion on the matter.
I have found no legal argument that could possibly come to a different conclusion on those points, based on established case law. The challenges were all made and dealt with 50-60 years ago, when many states still sought to outlaw marriage between people of different races, and they all failed before the courts. Barring an amendment to the US Constitution (which should make the framers of that document roll over in their graves, as it would be so clearly opposed to their intent for that great document), there is no valid legal barrier to recognition of the marriages that will be performed in California beginning 8 days from now in ALL of the other 49 states.
Opponents of equal marriage rights for all are absolutely correct that amending the US Constitution is their only hope of preventing recognition of these marriages throughout the country. I hope and pray that our country is not so driven by fear and hatred that we would amend our Constitution to discriminate against the segment of our population who find themselves drawn to those of the same gender when it comes to romance and the building of a family. This type of "tyranny of the majority" is one of the things our Constitution was designed to prevent, and I hope it succeeds in that task.
Thank you for taking the time to read my message. I hope you will consider it carefully. I do not believe it is your duty to defend the laws of this state when they are in clear violation of the overarching provisions of our country's Constitution, which is clearly a part of the laws governing Utah. I have faith in your commitment to upholding the law of the land, and I look forward to seeing your handling of these issues when they present themselves, which I hope will be very soon.
Very sincerely,
Rick Bickmore
Salt Lake City, UT
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* "The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal."
--Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
* "... the exclusion of same-sex couples from the designation of marriage works a real and appreciable harm upon same-sex couples and their children."
--Chief Justice Ronald M. George, California Supreme Court
7:38 AM
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