Roe Vs Wade Overturned

[CJD]

(08-10-2023, 12:10 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I think the appetite for overturning same sex marriage is far less then many believe.  I honestly don't think most people give it much thought.  You certainly don't see national stage politicians campaigning on the issue like you do with abortion.  Also same sex marriage has a much more solid foundation via the Constitution than then Roe decision.  You probably noticed both Bel and I, who are both pro-choice, pointed out that the argument in Roe was based on some rather tenuous legal logic.  As marriage carries with it major civil benefits, and for many people has nothing to do with any religion, it would be a major stretch for the SCOTUS to reverse course on that issue.  I agree about interracial marriage, that's a ship that has long since sailed.

I genuinely appreciate the optimism, but I just want to emphasize that the ruling that essentially legalized gay marriage nationwide is only 8 years old. And it was only a 5-4 decision.

The 4 dissenting judges were Alito, Thomas, Roberts, and Scalia. 3 of those justices are still on the Supreme Court today. And, since that ruling, the court has become more conservative, with Ruth Bader Ginsburg being replaced by Amy Coney Barrett, a Roman Catholic from a particularly...unusual sect, the "People of Praise" who are on record saying they'd expel any members of their church that have engaged in gay sex of any kind.

And Clarence Thomas, in his concurring opinion on the Roe V Wade overturn, said he'd like the SCOTUS to reconsider decisions on gay marriage and contraception. 

If it somehow reached the Supreme Court again in the near future, I could definitely see a 5-4 opinion banning gay marriage being a possibility. Hopefully, Gorsuch would not follow Scalia's ruling, but you never know. And the one conservative judge that ruled in favor of gay marriage legalization, Anthony Kennedy, has since been replaced by Kavanaugh. I'm not certain he'd maintain Kennedy's vote either. His record on LGBT rights isn't exactly sterling, dissenting on Bostock v Clayton County (in which it was determined gay and transgender were protected identities in the workplace), along with Alito and Thomas.
Thankfully, Gorsuch was on the majority side of that opinion.

Ultimately, I think you're right that there is, at the moment, no real appetite to go after gay marriage and contraception. The right wing has focused their full force on Transgender people for the last few years. But, if they are successful in that arena (as they were with abortion), where do you think they are likely to cast their next focus?

Quote:As for racism in general, I see a lot more overt racism than you might expect.  But I do believe that people in general are far less racist then they used to be.  I'm definitely not a pro PC person, but my sister and I were talking just the other day about Sixteen Candles and "Long Duck Dong".  It's jaw dropping how overtly racist that was, intentionally or not.  You'd never see that today.

Yea, it's kind of crazy how far we've come in a relatively short period of time. I am not saying racism is dead. It's clearly still out there. I'm just saying now there are social consequences for being outwardly racist, whereas in the 60s and earlier (and for several decades later for a lot of people), racism was basically the mainstream stance.