Ted Olsen explains why conservatives should support same-sex marriage

Ted Olsen, one of the most esteemed conservative-leaning lawyers in the country (and one of the lawyers currently in court trying to repeal Prop 8 which outlawed same-sex marriage in California), published an article in the January 18th edition of Newsweek magazine entitled The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage. He makes a very compelling argument in the article, just as he did in the courtroom, in favor of same-sex marriage. At times, he counters typically conservative opinions with their own logic. For example, he points out that marriage should be embraced in all its forms, because every type of marriage (not only heterosexual marriage) has been proven to establish stronger families and communities, values that are very important to conservatives. “The fact that individuals who happen to be gay want to share in this vital social institution is evidence that conservative ideals enjoy widespread acceptance. Conservatives should celebrate this, rather than lament it.”

Olsen goes on to describe how the United States has yet to live up to the concept that it was founded upon: that all people are created equally and have certain inalienable rights. Extending equal rights, including that of marriage, to gay people is undeniably supported by the Constitution. What that basically means is that opposing same-sex marriage is un-American, though he didn’t use those exact words himself.

Later in the article, Olsen explains how every anti-same-sex marriage argument he has ever heard was based on false assumptions and lack any solid evidence. He takes a moment to shoot down the most common ones, which he does with ease. Then, when rejecting religious-based opposition to same-sex marriage, he says, “… while our Constitution guarantees the freedom to exercise our individual religious convictions, it equally prohibits us from forcing our beliefs on others.” A quote from Eric Adams, a New York State Senator, comes to mind as a good way to wrap this up: “You don’t have to be gay to respect the rights of those who are.”

Sign the petition to televise the Perry v. Schwarzenegger (Prop 8) trial!

First, a little background info…

There is a US District Court case called Perry v. Schwarzenegger whose trial is set to begin on January 11th. It is significant and interesting for a number of reasons. First, the case challenges the validity of Proposition 8 which repealed same-sex marriage in California in November 2008. Second, the plaintiff, Kristin Perry, is being represented by two of the most highly regarded lawyers in the country, David Boies and Theodore Olsen. Third, these two layers are on very different parts of the political spectrum as far as what they believe (for instance, Olsen is known to be a conservative and represented George W. Bush in the SCOTUS case Bush v. Gore following the 2000 presidential election, while Boies represented Al Gore in that case), but they are both working together in this effort because they both believe that Prop 8 violates the US Constitution. That alone says a lot.

An effort is underway right now in the days leading up to the trial to get enough signatures to petition the trial’s judge, Vaughn R. Walker, to allow the trial to be televised. This is not some random effort, though. Judge Walker is considering televising the trial and has actually asked members of the public to comment and offer their opinions. The court initiated the effort to determine whether cameras should be allowed to film the trial, and it is up to us to prove that they should be. The proceedings and outcome of this trial affect the rights and lives of an enormous number of people. These people deserve to know what is going on in a trial in which they have a stake. Short of building a new courtroom with space for millions and millions of seats, putting the trial on TV is the best way to provide people with access to the trial.

The Courage Campaign has set up a special webpage to make it really easy for people to show their support for televising this trial. Please go sign this petition to urge Judge Walker to allow the trial to be televised. Thank you.