Now on May 2nd, its suit to halt these marriages here goes to a hearing before -- ta da -- the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). The full report appears in the Springfield Republican's site here. A highlight:
C. Joseph Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League, contends that gay marriages are undermining the rights of himself and others to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage simply as the union of a man and a woman. Doyle is asking the court to suspend the marriages, at least until a vote.This is too delicious. Stop the merry-go-round, I'm feeling dizzy.
The docket entry for this hearing is here. There's nothing juicy in it.
His lawyer, Chester Darling of Andover, had to argue that poor Joey's "ability to vote is being inhibited and interfered with. The court declared an outcome before a vote was taken on the amendment."
GLAD attorney Michele Granda countered in her brief that the suit showed no connection, or as she added, "His argument makes no sense." Hear. Hear.
Last year, Doyle's similarly ungrounded suit for a six-month stay same-sex marriages was denied by an SJC judge because he didn't have any standing to file it. Both that suit and the current one revolve about issues from eighth-grade civics and first-year law-school. You gotta ask whether the Catholic Action League folk are just chest thumping or not too bright.
A calm head, if you pardon the pun on the League's acronym, was Jennifer Levi, co-counsel for the seven same-sex couples in the original action that legalized their marriages. "People have been married. No one has been harmed by that."
Indeed, that may be the highest hurdle, legally and emotionally, for the reactionaries to get over. There I do agree with them – the longer people see that same-sex marriage do not cause problems or undermine anything except to aggravate the neuroses of a few, the less likely they are to object.
"Move along. These are not the droids you seek," worked for the Jedi knight in Star Wars. I wonder if he's available for service in Massachusetts.
2 comments:
It also amazes me that the Catholic Action League has been obtuse enough to stick to a name with a regrettable double entendre. After all, a highly visible portion of two generations of priests has given us a new view of what it means to get some "Catholic action."
Gee, you don't suppose there's some transference going on here, in addition to the blatant prejudice?
I wouldn't touch that with an 11-foot Czech.
It's a risible bunch, hanging around the KoC halls, formulating policy for a grander America.
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