News

Today marks a triumphant victory for justice, equality, and human dignity for all, as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down California’s discriminatory Prop. 8 and ruled the California same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.

In the landmark appellate opinion, the Court proclaims that Prop. 8 violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and that Prop. 8 ‘has no more practical effect than to strip gays and lesbians of their right to use the official designation that the state and society give to committed relationships, thereby adversely affecting the status and dignity of the members of a disfavored class.

This is a defining moment in America’s continuing Civil Rights struggle: from Loving v. Virginia declaring a ban on interracial marriage unconstitutional, to today’s ruling affirming the right to marry for gays and lesbians, the Court has made clear the right to marry is a fundamental right.  One thing is clear: bigotry and discrimination have no place in California and no place in America.

This ruling cannot be more timely, coming one week before Valentine’s Day.  My partner Michael and I are lucky in that we were proudly legally married in 2008 in California and look forward to celebrating our 29th anniversary together.  We look forward to the end of the despicable barrier to equality that has affected the lives of tens-of-thousands of same-sex couples throughout California.  No law should obstruct the love and commitment shared by two human beings.

Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair and California Democratic Party Vice Chair Eric C. Bauman released the following statement on Gov. Mitt Romney’s refusal to release his tax returns:

“What is Mitt hiding?  Why is he being so coy about releasing his tax returns, refusing to release them now, but suggesting he’ll release them in April?

“Could it be that Mitt Romney is just an insensitive, out-of-touch multi-millionaire Republican who not only sends jobs across the ocean, but sends his money there, too? I guess he really does not want us to know about those offshore funds he’s got in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Ireland, and Bermuda (Reuters, 1/18/12). If that got out, it just might just spike his carefully scripted ‘regular guy’ campaign image.

“Or perhaps he doesn’t want us to see why his income tax rate is only about 15 percent, even though he made hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaker’s fees and millions more from investments (Politico, 1/18/12). It sure seems like he doesn’t want us to find out what other ‘interesting’ business deals and ventures he has his greedy fingers in.

“Americans can’t afford to hand their economy over to an out-of-touch patrician multi-millionaire who pays much less in taxes than the typical hardworking American.  We don’t need a president whose tax plan would cut nearly a half million dollars in taxes for everyone in the top 1/10th percent, while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet (Washington Post, 1/5/12).  Most importantly, we can’t have a president who won’t be straightforward and tell the truth to the American people.”

LACDP Statement on the 2012 State of the State Address

Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair and California Democratic Party Vice Chair Eric C. Bauman released the following response on Governor Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address:

“Today, Governor Jerry Brown reaffirmed his commitment to put California back on track.  Even as California outpaces the nation in economic and job recovery, we are still faced with many tough choices.  As we move ahead to rebuild California, we will need to both solve our fiscal problems from their roots and invest in our common future.  To that end, we urge Republican legislators to end their obstructionist tactics and work together with Democratic colleagues to move California forward on behalf of all Californians.”

Change of Location for January LACDP Meeting