Three steps and a backup

For about 18 months the National Organization for Marriage (theirs, not yours) has been rather quiet. But with the nasty guy headed to Washington NOM is rolling out their plan to undo marriage equality. And in spite of that wonderful ruling 18 months ago, an undo is possible. Dear sister, alas this won’t make you feel any better.

In a five minute video Matt Baume explains the three steps:

1. Weaken protections. Arkansas Supremes ruled that certain rights can be withheld from same-sex couples, such as permitting only one parent on a birth certificate. In Houston citizens are working to deny benefits to same-sex spouses of city empolyees. Though the state must issue a license, it doesn’t have to treat a couple as married. Definitely separate and unequal. Unconstitutional? Likely. But that means a trip to the Supremes.

2. They nasty guy’s likely nominees for the Supremes have surely been hand-picked by Mike Pence and thus are extreme homophobes. The nominees for other top jobs, such as for Dept. of Justice, are also in that category. As Attorney General, Jeff Sessions could bring a case on behalf of the federal gov’t.

3. In addition to the constitutional conflicts mentioned above our opponents have installed their allies in courts and Dept. of Justice. They are ready for that trip to the Supremes.

Backup plan.

First Amendment Defense Acts in various states will allow other citizens to not honor a same-sex marriage license. These acts would generate constitutional conflicts for years, ready for the right justices to be appointed to the Supremes.

A marriage license currently comes with a suite of rights and protections. But those rights and protections could disappear depending on where you are and who you are talking to. The GOP and the Fundies behind them had complained that we were redefining marriage. They now plan to do exactly that by gutting all those assumed rights and protections.