Posted by Championship_Vinyl at l1.wpalaw.org on March 24, 2004 at 12:13:00:
In Reply to: I'm sure that four years ago, no one would... posted by Mrs. Isis Fabulous on March 24, 2004 at 11:58:01:
First of all, your position on the current administration is well-known, and what you've cited are definitely valid, arguable points that lend credence to that position. While I won't argue those points with you, comparing them to even the slightest possibility of actual changes being made to the Constitution is an entirely different story.
Now, I’d never claim to be an expert in any facet of law, especially Constitutional Law. However, I was dumb enough to pay a hundred grand for some experts to lecture at length about what they think, and Article V just isn't going to change, no matter how much you see Dubya as the harbinger of all things evil.
Any Amendment banning same-sex marriage would be argued (if taking the path of least resistance, because it could conceivably be argued against in a number of ways) as a direct violation of Due Process and Equal Protection clauses provided by the dual umbrella of Amendments IX and XIV, as well as the resultant anti-miscegenation Case Law based upon those Amendments. Alternatively, there's absolutely no way to make it law via United States Code, because attempting to do so would be most blatantly unconstitutional under Amendment X.
Ultimately, if any sort of anti-same-sex marriage Amendment were ever even so much as PROPOSED (formally, by two-thirds of Congress or states... other than the President running his yap, that is), Constitutional Law attorneys from every state would be filing complaint after complaint and appeal after appeal until it all turned into a mountain of paperwork so high that it blocked out the sun, killing all of us anyway.
If you’re able to argue against a proposed Amendment using almost a full THIRD of the existing 27 as your ammunition... well, that Amendment simply IS NOT going to happen.
Dubya and his lapdogs are insane, I'll totally spot you that. Fortunately, there are rigid safeguards in place that prevent a handful of nuts from seriously altering a document such as the Constitution.