Justices' shenanigans
Thank you, Lisa Keen, for another insightful article ["Thomas, Alito critical of '15 same-sex marriage ruling, October 8"].
I don't know how the legal community views Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito's "unusual, unsolicited statement" regarding overturning the right to marry. Personally, I think it sounds unprofessional and blatantly political. If there were any justice in the world, these two would be sanctioned.
They hoped Kim Davis' case would give them an opportunity to reverse a decision of just five years ago, but alas it was not quite on point. They would like the court to rule that somehow the right of a particular religion to set society's standards on sexual morality ought to trump the right of gay citizens to their inherent human rights.
I would remind these clowns that the late Antonin Scalia, of all people, wrote, in a decision preceding Obergefell, that the precedent the court established there would just about require it to rule in favor of same-sex marriage. And he was not offering his approval. But a precedent is a precedent, and if the high court is to regain the respect it had before Bush v. Gore made a mockery of the right to vote and to have all the votes counted, it will reject attempts to overturn decisions that extend civil rights to more people.
Scalia himself, at what I believe was a question-and-answer session at some college, said about Bush v. Gore that people (especially, Democrats, I would suppose) "should just get over it." Well, this voter will never get over it and will curse Scalia to his dying breath, but perhaps this advice should apply, too, to Supreme Court justices like Thomas and Alito. They have no right to take rights away, once recognized. We will not "get over it."
Jay T. Smith
San Francisco
This election is critical
This is in response to the online item "Out in the Bay: HRC: The most important election of our lives" [October 9].
As a young queer person, it's so often that I feel completely powerless, especially over these last four years. Seeing Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris take a stand on LGBTQ+ issues gives me hope for our future. It's allowed me to imagine a world where I can live more freely and openly. I'm counting on them to win the election and take our country to a more equal place.
Kabir McNeely
San Francisco
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