The “Calm Down, America” Party v. Prop 8 and SB 1070
Hey, remember California’s Proposition 8? You know, the state constitutional amendment providing that “only marriage between a man and a woman” could be considered “valid or recognized” in California? Well, guess what just got totally struck down because sexual orientation “does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights” in the eyes of the State Supreme Court?
This announcement comes just days after a federal judge chose to block key sections of Arizona’s institutionally racist Senate Bill 1070 – including a requirement that police officers check the immigration status of criminal suspects they’ve stopped while enforcing other laws, and a section declaring it a crime not to carry immigration papers.
I know it’s naïve, but a part of me likes to think that this is just the beginning of a bold new movement in America. I mean, if a bunch of uninformed crybabies with guns can call themselves a movement, then why can’t there be a mass organization of sensible, tolerant people who aren’t afraid to toss out a bunch of their country’s recent bad ideas? We could call it the “Calm Down, America” party.
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A great moment, to be sure. But as for the revocation of SB1070, I wonder if this is just an opportunity for Jan Brewer to score some political points and rally her base on a law she knew would never pass muster. The Tea Party must be appeased!
You may be right about that, Graeme, and it’s definitely got to be said that Arizona’s not out of the woods yet. Or cacti, or dunes, or whatever they’ve got going on down there.
She’s spent a lot of time on her Twitter account in recent weeks trying to make a big deal of the fact that Obama wouldn’t make the trip to Arizona to discuss the legislation. Frankly, I don’t blame him; if you’re not a white dude, then it’s not a great time to visit Arizona.