Wanna move? I hear Flagstaff's nice this time of year...

[acroyear]

Gay marriage ban rejected in Arizona - Yahoo! News:

Arizona became the first state to defeat an amendment to ban gay marriage

Nevermind...

They approved four that arose out of frustration over the influx of illegal immigrants: One measure makes English the state's official language, while another expands the list of government benefits denied to illegal immigrants.

I like this language, but not THAT much...

Back to good news!

South Dakota voters defeated a measure that would have made their state the first to strip immunity from judges, exposing them to the possibility of lawsuits.

Judicial independence survives another cycle...

Comments

[dawntreader]

suing a judge? for what? because the trial didn't go your way? or are they immune from ALL lawsuits of any kind?

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

Yes, suing a judge because it didn't go your way was EXACTLY what they wanted. You really need to understand the whole right-wing labeling of so-called "activist judges", which is really a catch phrase for "judge that makes a decision against the Right's position" and how they believe that's a war by the judiciary against Democracy.

The reality is that the judiciary is our protection against the abuses of Democracy, acting to preserve our rights (most of the time), but people who feel it is their God-mandated responsibility to impose a theocracy on this country feel that the judiciary is in the way.

[dawntreader]

Yes, suing a judge because it didn't go your way was EXACTLY what they wanted.

i agree with the voters. THAT is TOTAL CRAP. ARGHHH. just the concept of that PISSES ME OFF. if enough people disagree with a judge, they vote on it.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

Up to a point. That point is the Bill of Rights. There are LIMITS to what the government and even democratic voting can do.

If anything, allowing direct ballots to amend state constitutions is how they "Vote on it", and the result in Ohio has been a complete removal of many protections for unmarried couples, which is about to happen in VA even without such "Activists judges". They planted the 2nd paragraph into the ballot specifically to "protect marriage" (really, to protect their homophobia and their moral prejudice) from future judges should the state eventually turn slightly more liberal.