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Presiding at Same-Sex Wedding, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Emphasizes the Word ‘Constitution’
New York Times ^ | 05/18/2015 | Maureen Dowd

Posted on 05/18/2015 12:19:37 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

The groom and groom strolled down the aisle to the mellow strains of “Mr. Sandman.”

Wearing her black robe with her signature white lace collar, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg presided over the marriage on Sunday afternoon of Michael Kahn, the longtime artistic director of the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, and Charles Mitchem, who works at an architecture firm in New York.

The gilded setting was elegant: Anderson House in the Embassy Row neighborhood, the headquarters in Washington of the Society of the Cincinnati, a club for the descendants of the French and American soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. During the ceremony, the couple slipped black and gold Harry Winston rings onto each other’s fingers.

But the most glittering moment for the crowd came during the ceremony. With a sly look and special emphasis on the word “Constitution,” Justice Ginsburg said that she was pronouncing the two men married by the powers vested in her by the Constitution of the United States.

No one was sure if she was emphasizing her own beliefs or giving a hint to the outcome of the case the Supreme Court is considering whether to decide if same-sex marriage is constitutional.

But the guests began applauding loudly, delighted either way. Justice Ginsburg, who has officiated at same-sex weddings in the past, also seemed delighted, either by their reaction or, perhaps, by the news that she will be played in a movie by Natalie Portman (who, in a strange casting segue, will play Jackie Kennedy Onassis in another film).

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; US: District of Columbia; US: New York
KEYWORDS: alcoholism; charlesmitchem; constitution; districtofcolumbia; gaymarriage; ginsburg; homosexualagenda; libertarians; medicalmarijuana; michaelkahn; newyork; newyorkcity; newyorkslimes; newyorktimes; ruthbaderginsburg; samesexmarriage; scotus; shakespeare; sodomy; washington
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To: txhurl
No, we’re ruled by 1 judge, the swing voter.

And this is exactly right. I remember during the judicial proceedings on prop 8 in California that one witty fellow remarked:

Why don't we all just save a lot of time and ask Justice Kennedy what he thinks?

61 posted on 05/18/2015 2:35:10 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp
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To: SeekAndFind

You can make it legal.
You can call it good and right.

Doesn’t matter.
When the grooms kiss, many in attendance look away because it makes them uncomfortable.


62 posted on 05/18/2015 2:43:24 PM PDT by mad puppy (E PLURIBUS UNUM)
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To: SeekAndFind

What have ww here...? Looks like a turd sandwich!


63 posted on 05/18/2015 2:45:27 PM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: Lurking Libertarian
(Sotomayor was married to a man and is now divorced.)

She was married to Kevin Edward Noonan for a short while, soon after graduating, had no children and they divorced over 30 years ago.
64 posted on 05/18/2015 3:01:39 PM PDT by Brown Deer (Pray for 0bama. Psalm 109:8)
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To: DiogenesLamp

Nero is busy bending over for 0bama.


65 posted on 05/18/2015 3:03:50 PM PDT by Brown Deer (Pray for 0bama. Psalm 109:8)
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To: SeekAndFind
The groom and groom strolled down the aisle to the mellow strains of “Mr. Sandman.”

Wow, Metallica?? Odd choice.

66 posted on 05/18/2015 3:07:10 PM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: DiogenesLamp

“No, the converse argument does not work.”

It does. However perverse, the procedure is legal where she performed it. As such, it’s not grounds for recusal. For that, you need advocacy.


67 posted on 05/18/2015 3:08:09 PM PDT by fruser1
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To: Brown Deer
She was married to Kevin Edward Noonan for a short while, soon after graduating, had no children and they divorced over 30 years ago.

And that proves she's a lesbian?

68 posted on 05/18/2015 3:30:40 PM PDT by Lurking Libertarian (Non sub homine, sed sub Deo et lege)
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To: SeekAndFind
Ginsburgs moral compass


69 posted on 05/18/2015 3:50:49 PM PDT by Manic_Episode (GOP = The Whig Party)
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To: Brown Deer
Nero is busy bending over for 0bama.

It is fair to say that most of what I see him doing is defending Obama. I don't actually understand him, but I think there is more to him than what he appears to be.

70 posted on 05/18/2015 3:53:00 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp
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To: fruser1
It does. However perverse, the procedure is legal where she performed it. As such, it’s not grounds for recusal. For that, you need advocacy.

Performing such a procedure in light of thousands of years of prohibition against it, *IS* advocacy.

The concept of "marriage" was never intended to encompass any relationship other than man/woman. If you break the concept away from it's normal and socially functional meaning, it is just as reasonable to assert that it applies to goats, pigs and vegetation, as it is to say it applies to two males.

It is a deliberate effort to reject the normal and socially viable definition. It is completely an act of advocacy.

71 posted on 05/18/2015 3:59:22 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp
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To: dead

RE: Wow, Metallica?? Odd choice.

Did the article say Metallica?

Or is it “Mr. Sandman” by the Chordettes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNuX7bs2qAM


72 posted on 05/18/2015 4:05:46 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: MrB

Boy, and here I was thinking the Constitution only affirmed SOME inalienable Rights; among those Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Whereas govt, obtaining their Powers (note: NOT Rights) from the consent of the governed, are instituted to protect our Land, borders and the Rights of the Citizens.

Now, I care not what two people wish to do personally; not do I believe We should require PERMISSIONS from govt for a number of things; nor should words be twisted to mean what they do NOT.

If I wish to call my love, of 13 years, my spouse/wife/etc. I should get every nod/acknowledgment in doing so...WITHOUT needing to kneel before the State/Fed to do so.

In this regard, Buzzie is correct. Though, now that the Left wishes to open this Pandora’s box; I wish to instate my 2nd A. ‘Constitutional Carry’ Rights, Docs/lawyers licensed in one State need not worry in another...and the list goes on and on.


73 posted on 05/18/2015 5:03:44 PM PDT by i_robot73 ("A man chooses. A slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan)
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To: Genoa

Why pass an Amend with NO teeth, where the existing Amendment do just as you describe....They are just not being FOLLOWED nor properly interpreted.

Might as well make murder even MORE illegal for all that would do.


74 posted on 05/18/2015 5:07:26 PM PDT by i_robot73 ("A man chooses. A slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan)
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To: Genoa

“The witch knows she has a bias and she just doesn’t care. To her, the Constitution is what she says it is.”

A degree from Harvard or Yale law school is today a prerequisite for being a Supreme Court justice. State University law school graduates need not apply. Occasionally a graduate of another Ivy League School like Ginsburg (Columbia) makes the cut. All of these schools teach the “living Constitution”.


75 posted on 05/18/2015 5:14:33 PM PDT by Soul of the South (Yesterday is gone. Today will be what we make of it.)
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To: DiogenesLamp

First and foremost, there is no such thing as binding precedent at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Justices of the High Court are not bound by “stare decisis,” only lower courts must follow the holdings of higher courts. Some of the most famous landmark decisions of the Supreme Court have overturned precedent.

While I will always take the points of view of other conservatives into account, I have my own points of view. I will not succumb to the logical fallacy of argumentum ad populum. Just because a point of view is popular with some conservatives doesn’t make it the only valid point of view.

I can guarantee you that there will NEVER be a time when constitutionist conservative justices don’t consider and aren’t guided by original intent.
Originalism, strict constructionism and textualism are the philosphical foundations of conservative jurisprudence.

Originalism is the theory of interpretation by which judges attempt to ascertain the meaning of a particular provision of a state or federal constitution by determining how the provision was understood at the time it was drafted and ratified. That’s historical precedent.

Strict Construction means interpreting the Constitution based on a literal and narrow definition of the language without reference to the differences in conditions when the Constitution was written and modern conditions, inventions and societal changes. By contrast “broad construction” looks to what someone thinks was the “intent” of the framers’ language and expands and interprets the language extensively to meet current standards of human conduct and the complexity of modern society. That’s historical precedent.

Textualism is a theory of statutory interpretation which holds that a statute’s original meaning as evidenced in its word for word text should govern how judges interpret the statute, as opposed to alternative methods of statutory interpretation such as inquiring into historical sources in attempt to discover the intent of the legislative body that approved the statute.

Textualism is consistent with the “Plain Meaning Rule,” which says that interpreters of statutes ought to interpret what a statute says according to its “plain meaning.”

“Textualism” also refers to a set of practical techniques used by some noted jurists to nail down the meaning of a statute through close consideration of its text. That’s legal precedent.

Historical legal precedent is a factor that conservative judges take into consideration when looking for an understanding of original intent, narrow construction and textual considerations. Precedent can be a guide at the Supreme Court. It is not a legal straitjacket.


76 posted on 05/18/2015 5:31:31 PM PDT by Nero Germanicus (PALIN/CRUZ: 2016)
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To: Lurking Libertarian
And that proves she's a lesbian?

Why do you ask that?
77 posted on 05/18/2015 5:48:01 PM PDT by Brown Deer (Pray for 0bama. Psalm 109:8)
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To: Lurking Libertarian
And there are not two lesbians on the Supreme Court.

Do you have proof of that?
78 posted on 05/18/2015 5:53:34 PM PDT by Brown Deer (Pray for 0bama. Psalm 109:8)
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To: Brown Deer
Why do you ask that?

I was responding to someone who claimed that there are two lesbians on the Supreme Court. As far as I know, there are not. There are three women on the Supreme Court, two of whom are formerly married to men.

79 posted on 05/18/2015 7:13:30 PM PDT by Lurking Libertarian (Non sub homine, sed sub Deo et lege)
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To: miss marmelstein

So, in the first paragraph you say “I was talking to the general FR community who has no idea what goes on in today’s culture.”

In the second paragraph you say “Try to find one freeper who will let their kid audition for the school play or musical because of their silly fear of homosexuality catching.”

Which is it? Are they clueless and need your help to tell them homosexuals are in the theatre, or do they know and are keeping their kids out (I personally vote for #1)?


80 posted on 05/18/2015 7:21:00 PM PDT by Team Cuda
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