Comments on: Cook County State Attorney files brief in support of marriage equality in Illinois

By: Prop 8 Trial Tracker » Illinois legislature may consider marriage equality bill in January

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:48:03 +0000

[...] Legal and the ACLU of Illinois filed their suits, both the Illinois Attorney General and the state attorney for Cook County (where the cases were filed) have publicly stated that they support marriage [...]

By: Ferdor

Ferdor — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 01:29:45 +0000

It will take further deliberations to combine both cases as both are intrinsincially differ in various degrees. criminal lawyer los angeles

By: Lymis

Lymis — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:02:06 +0000

Heck, Louisiana doesn't even have counties.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 01:29:46 +0000

And the highest court in each state is the Supreme Court, correct?

Except in New York state, it is the Supreme Courts are the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the state court system.

Except in Maryland, the Supreme Court is where appeals are sent, and then if further appealed, it goes to the Court of Special Appeals.

And I'm sure others could, if they wanted, would be able to give other examples where the highest court in the state is NOT the Supreme Court.

Oh, and an entry at Wikipedia states:
"In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney (DA) is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of assistant (ADA) or deputy district attorneys. Similar functions are carried out at the local level in other jurisdictions by officers named the Commonwealth's Attorney, State's Attorney, County Attorney, or County Prosecutor. Depending on the system in place in the particular state or county, district attorneys may be appointed by the chief executive of the region or elected by the people."

Remember, 98% (or even 99%) is NOT equivalent to, and the same as, 100%.

By: Guest

Guest — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 19:33:13 +0000

Oops…*counties. We all make mistakes

By: Guest

Guest — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 19:32:35 +0000

County's don't have attorneys general. They have state's attorneys.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 03:31:52 +0000

I think the AP is underplaying the chances of a successful vote in Maryland.

There are a number of factors in play in the state:

1. Maryland adjoins DC, and doesn't like DC being 'ahead' of Maryland. Marriage equality is already legal in DC, so Maryland now wants to catch up. That same opinion isn't quite the same with regards to the other states:
Delaware
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Virginia

2. Maryland is a VERY blue state – the last time Maryland voted for a GOP Presidential candidate was 1988; the last time it voted for a GOP Presidential candidate three elections in a row was '48, '52, and '56. And all six Dem Reps and both Senators, along with all statewide state officials (all Dems) are in support of marriage equality;

3. If the President is a Democrat, and is in favor or against something, that would almost certainly be the majority opinion in Maryland;

4. The latest polls are now showing a 20 point or so margin in favor of upholding the marriage equality law (PPP shows it at 57-37). Even if the 'for marriage equality' vote diminishes by the usual 7%, the 'anti marriage equality' vote would need to vastly exceed the usual no change in polling predictions.

5. Much of the 'anti marriage equality' polling was coming from the African-American population. Since President Obama was not very publicaly, until recently, for or against such equality, many African-Americans were taking the position expressed by their ministers (next in line in the 'pecking order' of opinion). Now that the President has decided for marriage equality, and in a VERY supportive manner, many AAs have 'adjusted' their opinion, and are now taking the President's side.

6. Word is starting to spread in the AA community of NOM's 'divide and conquer' mentality, and many AAs are resentful that NOM is considering (or at least were) AAs as 'playing pieces' in a game.

All in all, I think the AP radically underplayed Maryland, and the chances of a pro-marriage equality vote being successful in the state. If anything, maybe the list should have been expanded to 'Six'.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:06:19 +0000

We thought in California our losing streak would end; we thought in Maine it would end. While the numbers in our favor do not lie, our influence with the majority of likely voters, which is a more conservative segment, will only be known in retrospect. That being said, I am placing bets on winning at least two of the fights this November.

By: Malisa

Malisa — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 17:47:05 +0000

Nice job done, now we are waiting for more action from Obama.

By: Regan DuC.

Regan DuC. — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 17:01:10 +0000

NC certainly was an exercise in overkill where discrimination is concerned. As long as there is a break in the tradition of state and federal Constitution as documents of equal treatment and not discrimination, these amendments are hopefully all doomed over time.
Gay men and women ARE tax paying, law abiding citizens and their right to being protected is supposed to be a guarantee. These laws are forcing them to be complicit in their own discrimination.
And states don't have inexhaustible funds and resources to lock up the courts in what's an increasingly expensive endeavor to promote marriage discrimination.
Another point to make is that none of these discriminatory laws actually protect or guarantee the endurance of actual marriages and families.
In word, all this expensive political action for laws that are inert in their intent and purpose.
And that do great harm to the target in the meantime.

Jim Crow, didn't make white people more superior or moral than blacks. Similar discrimination against gays won't do that for hetero people either.