Get out there, Ted!

Theodore Olson and I agree about virtually nothing. He's a conservative. I'm anything but. He has argued in front of the Supremes many times. I have argued in front of family members, cashiers, and "customer service" reps. He argued in front of the Supremes for Bush, not Gore. And won.

But I have respect for this man who is very different from me. We're both lawyers, it's true. I respect him not just because he's arguing on behalf of the right of gay people to marry in California. But to listen to him speak, you realize that it's nothing more than an issue of civil rights.

People who don't believe that gay people are entitled to marriage should read both the US Tax Code and the 14th Amendment. There's simply no way to get equal protection, taxwise, if you can't marry. Domestic partnerships and civil unions simply don't qualify. The arguments used by conservatives to decry gay marriage as a slap to the institution of marriage should read Loving v. Virginia (cited below) because the same arguments were made about inter-racial marriage. We seem, as a nation, to have moved past that (Mr. Bardwell notwithstanding).

Another plus about Mr. Olson is that if it does manage to get to the Supremes to hear, as is seeming increasingly likely, he has a lot of experience there.

Now get out there, Ted. Score some points for We The People.