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November 8, 2005

And Thus Spake the People...

Tuesday, November 8th, 2005.
Texas Voters overwhelmingly approved an Amendment to the Texas Constitution designed to ban Gay Marriage.

This is overkill, as Texas already has an unchallenged State Law prohibiting same-sex Marriage. Additionally, the language of the amendment is, in my opinion, so poorly worded that it actually bans opposite-sex marriage.

The full language of the Amendment appears below. The underlined portion will become part of the Texas Constitution. The rest are simply notes regarding Legislative Intent.

H.J.R. No. 6  
A JOINT RESOLUTION proposing a constitutional amendment providing that
marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman.
	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                       
	SECTION 1.  Article I, Texas Constitution, is amended by 
adding Section 32 to read as follows:
	Sec. 32.  (a)  Marriage in this state shall consist only of 
the union of one man and one woman.
	          (b)  This state or a political subdivision of this state may 
not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to 
marriage.
	SECTION 2.  This state recognizes that through the 
designation of guardians, the appointment of agents, and the use of 
private contracts, persons may adequately and properly appoint 
guardians and arrange rights relating to hospital visitation, 
property, and the entitlement to proceeds of life insurance 
policies without the existence of any legal status identical or 
similar to marriage.
	SECTION 3.  This proposed constitutional amendment shall be 
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 8, 2005.  
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the 
proposition:  "The constitutional amendment providing that 
marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one 
woman and prohibiting this state or a political subdivision of this 
state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or 
similar to marriage."

Looking only at the 'Amendment' portion of the Resolution, and breaking it down into simple terms:

Sec 32, paragraph (a) provides a definition for Marriage.
Sec 32, paragraph (b) then goes on to state that Texas may not create or recognize any legal status identical, or similar to, Marriage.

Thus, 'Marriage' itself becomes illegal.

Now, I have philosophical issues abour writing discrimination into the State Constitution to begin with, but poorly worded discrimination is even worse. This document is the foundation for all Texas Laws. It must be unambiguous. Sure, everyone in Texas today knows what the intent of this amendment is. But there have been arguments regarding the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law since Hammurabi I first wrote down the Laws of Babylon six-thousand years ago.

I weep for Texans. Not for their blatant close-mindedness or their lack of respect for their fellow human being, but also for their apparent illiteracy and poor reading comprehension skills.

Posted by Shannon on November 8, 2005 10:00 PM

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