Breaking News: CA Supreme Court Will Hear Prop. 8 Challenges

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:40:00 GMT

In case your post-election elation is starting to wear off, here's some good news in the fight for constitutional protections. The California Supreme Court agreed today to hear the case against Proposition 8 brought by the ACLU, the City of San Francisco, and gay rights organizations. This is the same court that unwittingly brought about the Prop. 8 firestorm after they ruled that banning gay marriage violates both the fundamental right to marry and the equal protection clause of the California Constitution.

The lawsuits against Prop. 8 hinge on two main arguments, namely (according to the San Francisco Chronicle) that "the measure exceeds the legal scope of a ballot initiative by allowing a majority to restrict a minority group's rights, and that it violates the constitutional separation of powers by limiting judicial authority."

The court's decision to review challenges to Prop. 8 is great news, but the fight is far from over. The court also ruled that same-sex marriages will remain illegal until it has considered the constitutionality of Prop. 8. And if it does find the measure to be constitutionally sound, the court will have to decide whether to apply Prop. 8 retroactively, nullifying the 18,000 marriages that took place between the court's legalization of same-sex marriage and the passage of Prop. 8. We'll keep you posted.

Photo: Los Angeles Times

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Transgendered Teen Wins Right To Run For Prom King

Patti — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:27:00 GMT

Fresno High senior Cinthia Covarrubias made history when she managed to get the district to overturn a regulation that required prom royalty to adhere to gender restrictions. Covarrubias came out as transgendered her freshman year, and she wanted to run for prom king because that's what makes sense for her. So she made it happen.

Cinthia's quest for prom king status met with mixed reactions from classmates and adults. While many people were very supportive of Cinthia's goal to reverse the district's rules and earn the right to run alongside the biological males as a prom king candidate, some people just weren't quite ready to make the leap to the 21st century. One classmate called Cinthia's campaign "creepy" while a parent—someone who is presumably responsible for teaching her own children how to treat other people—wondered how Cinthia could be so insensitive as to put other people in the awkward position of having to accept her for who she is. That mother, Deana Giles, actually said the following: "The world is getting too politically correct" and "There's a time and a place to make a stand...this isn't it." Translation: People who aren't like me should just shut up. A lovely sentiment, no?

Cinthia wasn't elected prom king, but this is a huge win for GLBT teens everywhere, anyway. And also for any kid who feels marginalized.

(Author's note: After sitting around playing with pronouns for a while, I ended up following the Associated Press's lead and using "she" to refer to Cinthia. In no way is this meant to denigrate Cinthia's gender identity.)

Strollerderby : equal rights

Breaking News: CA Supreme Court Will Hear Prop. 8 Challenges

Transgendered Teen Wins Right To Run For Prom King