Posts Tagged ‘unanimous’
Brazil’s high court rules unanimously for same-sex unions
Brazil’s Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the nation should recognize same-sex unions.
The court voted 10-0 in favor of recognizing the unions. One justice abstained because he had spoken publicly in favor of same-sex unions when he was attorney general.
The court ruled that the same rights and rules that apply to “stable unions” of heterosexual couples will apply to same-sex couples, including the right to joint declaration of income tax, pension, inheritance and property sharing…
Some gay rights groups have encountered strong resistance in parts of Latin America, where the influential Roman Catholic Church often opposes measures allowing same-sex unions or adoption by same-sex couples.
Argentina became the first Latin American country to approve same-sex marriage in 2010. Mexico City approved same-sex marriage in 2009. And several other countries in the region have legalized civil unions.
Brazil’s high court ruling came in response to two lawsuits — one filed by the Rio de Janeiro state government in 2008 and another in 2009 by the Public Ministry, a group of prosecutors that is part of the federal government but independent from its executive, legislative and judicial branches.
In most cases – despite opposition from religions still stuck into the 14th Century – results like this have been accomplished by governments which recognize the responsibility to lead the way in civil rights for their citizens.
Reflect upon the fact that this has never especially been the case in the United States. Civil rights advances here have resulted from decades of political and social pressure from activist citizens upon a recalcitrant and reluctant government.
That’s not saying there weren’t similar movements in Latin America prior to government cooperation. But, the differences are dramatic.
Iceland passes gay marriage law. Unanimous? Yes.
Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission
Iceland, the only country in the world to have an openly gay head of state, has passed a law allowing same-sex partners to get married in a vote which met with no political resistance.
The Althingi parliament voted 49 to zero to change the wording of marriage legislation to include matrimony between “man and man, woman and woman,” in addition to unions between men and women.
The longest-lived democratic parliament in the world, BTW. Meeting since the year 930.
Iceland, a socially tolerant island nation of about 320,000 people, became the first country to elect an openly gay head of state in 2009 when Social Democrat Johanna Sigurdardottir became prime minister after being nominated by her party.
“The attitude in Iceland is fairly pragmatic,” said Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson, a political scientist at the University of Iceland. “It (gay marriage) has not been a big issue in national politics — it’s not been controversial…”
Iceland’s protestant church has yet to decide whether to allow same-sex marriages in church, although the law says “ministers will always be free to perform (gay) marriage ceremonies, but never obliged to.”
Too bad that here in “the land of the free”, civil rights are still constrained by churches, political parties, state and federal governments – generally for one or another piece-of-crap superstition.
ABA gives Judge Sotomayor a unanimous top rating
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor got a boost in what is expected to be a relatively easy road to Senate confirmation when an influential U.S. lawyer’s group gave her its top rating.
The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary based its unanimous “well qualified” evaluation on a review of the integrity, competence and judicial temperament of Sotomayor, a federal judge for 17 years who seems headed to become the first Hispanic on the highest U.S. court…
Sotomayor is expected to win confirmation by the full Democratic-led Senate, perhaps overwhelmingly, to replace David Souter, who recently retired. Her hearings begin on Monday.
Sotomayor, 54, would likely not change the balance on the often divided nine-member court. Like Souter, she is seen as a liberal though Democrats insist she is mainstream.
Liberalism in most aspects of criminal and civil law are mainstream in America. Those who don’t admit it – oppose it. Simple enough.
There is little difference between Left and Right in enforcing law. There is significant difference in moving it forward into contemporary life. The reactionaries on the Supreme Court – beholden to their Republican masters – try their damndest to push the life of our society back to the 18th Century.
The ABA, with more than 400,000 members, describes itself as the world’s largest voluntary professional membership organization. Founded in 1878, it has been providing evaluations of judicial nominees since 1953, a spokeswoman said.
Clarence Thomas is the only current member of the Supreme Court not to receive a “well qualified” from the ABA. He was rated a notch below at “qualified,” the spokeswoman said.
Blago is history!
The Illinois State Senate Thursday convicted Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich on a sprawling article of impeachment that charged him with abusing his power. The vote prompted the governor’s immediate and permanent ouster and ended nearly two months of political spectacle in which he sought unsuccessfully to salvage his reputation and career here and across the country.
Overdue.
