ITP V.012 SOCIAL JUSTICE: US Supreme Court To Hear Prop 8 AND DOMA (Defense of Marriage) Cases!

                                                                     The U.S. Supreme Court shall hear arguments in both prop. 8 (California) and DOMA cases set to take place via U.S. District Court of appeals 2/9/2013.

(PHOTO ON THE LEFT:ROB THOMAS OF MATCHBOOK TWENTY SUPPORTING NOH8)

FROM NOH8:

The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that they will be hearing an appeal to the February 9th, 2012 US District Circuit Court of Appeals decision that upheld Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling on Prop 8, which declared the proposition unconstitutional. In light of the Supreme Court's decision to hear that appeal, the rights of California's same-sex couples remain on the line. However, this decision also ensures same-sex couples the opportunity to fight for the right to marry on a federal level.

Having originated in response to the passage of Prop 8 in November 2008 and not having stopped fighting in the four years since, the NOH8 Campaign is proud to call California home. So many incredible organizations and activists have dedicated the last four years of their lives to restoring marriage equality to California, and we know it's only a matter of time.

We want to send out a special thanks the American Federation for Equal Rights for their tireless work in the Prop 8 case.

The Supreme Court will also hear a case that would challenge the constitutionality of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act), potentially opening up the opportunity to achieve marriage equality on a federal level.

We can expect briefing to begin soon and end around March, culminating with a hearing next Spring. The stage is set, and the Supreme Court's decision guarantees that federal marriage equality will have its day in court!

Today's developments and the impact they will have on the future of equal rights could be huge. The Supreme Court's decisions have added to the momentum for marriage equality seen this past election, and we're anxious and excited to see what else the future may bring. We share today with each and every person and family affected by legislation like Prop 8 and DOMA.

All love. NOH8.

FROM AP NEWS:
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will take up California's ban on same-sex marriage, a case that could give the justices the chance to rule on whether gay Americans have the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals.

The justices said Friday they will review a federal appeals court ruling that struck down the state's gay marriage ban, though on narrow grounds. The San Francisco-based appeals court said the state could not take away the same-sex marriage right that had been granted by California's Supreme Court.

The court also will decide whether Congress can deprive legally married gay couples of federal benefits otherwise available to married people. A provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act limits a range of health and pension benefits, as well as favorable tax treatment, to heterosexual couples.

The cases probably will be argued in March, with decisions expected by late June.

Gay marriage is legal, or will be soon, in nine states – Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington – and the District of Columbia. Federal courts in California have struck down the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but that ruling has not taken effect while the issue is being appealed.

Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington approved gay marriage earlier this month.

But 31 states have amended their constitutions to prohibit same-sex marriage. North Carolina was the most recent example in May. In Minnesota earlier this month, voters defeated a proposal to enshrine a ban on gay marriage in that state's constitution.
The biggest potential issue before the justices comes in the dispute over California's Proposition 8, the state constitutional ban on gay marriage that voters adopted in 2008 after the state Supreme Court ruled that gay Californians could marry. The case could allow the justices to decide whether the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection means that the right to marriage cannot be limited to heterosexuals.

A decision in favor of gay marriage could set a national rule and overturn every state constitutional provision and law banning same-sex marriages. A ruling that upheld California's ban would be a setback for gay marriage proponents in the nation's largest state, although it would leave open the state-by-state effort to allow gays and lesbians to marry.

In striking down Proposition 8, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals crafted a narrow ruling that said because gay Californians already had been given the right to marry, the state could not later take it away. The ruling studiously avoided any sweeping pronouncements.

The larger constitutional issue almost certainly will be presented to the court, but the justices would not necessarily have to rule on it.

The other issue the high court will take on involves a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, known by its acronym DOMA, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of deciding who can receive a range of federal benefits.

Four federal district courts and two appeals courts struck down the provision.

The justices chose for their review the case of 83-year-old Edith Windsor, who sued to challenge a $363,000 federal estate tax bill after her partner of 44 years died in 2009.

Windsor, who goes by Edie, married Thea Spyer in 2007 after doctors told them that Spyer would not live much longer. She suffered from multiple sclerosis for many years. Spyer left everything she had to Windsor.

There is no dispute that if Windsor had been married to a man, her estate tax bill would have been $0.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York agreed with a district judge that the provision of DOMA deprived Windsor of the constitutional guarantee of equal protection.

http://www.noh8campaign.com/

On November 4, 2008 Proposition 8 passed in California, amending the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The defeat provoked a groundswell of initiative within the GLBT community at a grassroots level, with many new political and protest organizations being formed in response.

The NOH8 Campaign is a photographic silent protestcreated by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska(http://www.bouska.net) and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the passage of Proposition 8. Photos feature subjects with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing their voices being silenced by Prop 8 and similar legislation around the world, with "NOH8" painted on one cheek in protest.

Four years since its inception, the NOH8 Campaign has grown to nearly 30,000 faces and continues to grow at an exponential rate. The campaign began with portraits of everyday Californians from all walks of life and soon rose to include politicians, military personnel, newlyweds, law enforcement, artists, celebrities, and many more.

The NOH8 Campaign has received overwhelming support from around the world, and has appeared in various local and national news programs and publications. The images are widely used on various social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to spread the message of equality. Eventually the images will be compiled for a large-scale media campaign.

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l- REPEAL PROPOSITION 8, NO DOMA, NO HATE