Putting the SCOTUS Feet to the Fire...

Looks like a majority of the United States want this expedited:

Thirty-two states that either allow gay marriage or have banned it asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to settle the issue once and for all.

Fifteen states that allow gay marriage, led by Massachusetts, filed a brief asking the justices to take up three cases from Virginia, Utah and Oklahoma and overturn bans. And 17 other states, led by Colorado, that have banned the practice asked the court to hear cases from Utah and Oklahoma to clear up a "morass" of lawsuits, but didn't urge the court to rule one way or another.

The filing came as a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled that same-sex marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana are unconstitutional. The unanimous decision Thursday criticized the justifications both states gave, several times singling out the argument that marriage between a man and a woman is tradition. There are, the court noted, good and bad traditions.

The experience of Massachusetts - the first state to legalize gay marriage - shows that allowing same-sex couples to wed has only benefited families and strengthened the institution of marriage, said Attorney General Martha Coakley.

"Laws that bar same-sex couples from marrying are discriminatory and unconstitutional," she said. "The time has come for this critical issue to be resolved."

Massachusetts was joined by California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington.

Colorado's brief argued that the definition of marriage faces legal challenges only the Supreme Court can resolve, and that without a Supreme Court decision, states defending bans could be liable for huge legal bills from future lawsuits if they are overturned. It was written by Daniel D. Domenico, the state's solicitor general, and Michael Lee Francisco, assistant solicitor general.

Colorado was joined by Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

These are the cases addressed in the briefs:

In Virginia, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July that the state's voter-approved ban is unconstitutional. The state has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which hasn't said whether it will accept the case. But the high court granted a request on Aug. 20 from a county clerk to delay implementation of the ruling, which would have allowed same-sex couples to marry beginning the next day.

In Oklahoma, an appeals court tossed the state's ban in July but put its ruling on hold pending an appeal, meaning same-sex couples can't marry in Oklahoma for now. Attorneys representing the Tulsa County court clerk - who refused to issue a marriage license for a lesbian couple there - asked the Supreme Court this month to hear the case.

In Utah, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled this summer that Utah must allow gay couples to marry, though it put the ruling on hold pending an appeal. The state has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the state's ban.

What do you think? Time to hear this?

Over and "Out" from Richmond, VA

The Next Day... Part Three... (The move back)

The cycle ends...

It took me about a week or two of drinking good old fashioned sweet tea all day long. I found I relied on fluids to fill that empty hole, but later reverted to something more traditional called "Eating"...

The job market in North Central Florida was not a whole lot better than it was in the Tidewater area of Virginia, but I did manage to land an eight week assignment through a local temp agency working with the Store Planning team on a Walmart remodel. After getting used to working and having a paycheck again I soon realized that the reasons I had chosen to move down to Florida really didn't play out as I had hoped they would. My son and my grandchildren's mother have a different style of raising kids than I was used to. Without getting into any of the details, I found that 1) I didn't possess the patience I once had around "toddlers", and 2) I refused to engage in any of the peripheral drama that kept popping up while I was a "guest" in their home...

When the 8 week project was done, the temp service couldn't find me another assignment and after six months back in Florida, I came to the realization that I really didn't like it don there and remembered why I was happy to leave the Sunshine State back in 1999. I started sending applications and resumes out to employers in the Richmond area and within a week had set up interviews (after the initial phone interview) with two different companies. It was time to thank my High Springs family, pack up the "Cruiser", and head back up to Virginia...

I arrived in Richmond on a Wednesday. By Friday I had been hired by one of the employers and by the following Wednesday had the 2nd interview. Start date for the first was not set and since the 2nd was a much better (and higher paying) position, I waited until the very last minute to start with The Home Depot in hopes that the 2nd offer might happen. I'm in week #3 now with the overnight Merchandise Execution Team (MET) at the "Homo Depot"...

While I have not given up on drinking, I find I go weeks without wanting one. I also find that when I have had a "party" night, my tolerance has greatly diminished as has the quantity of consumption. 

Now that I have brought you up to date, I will begin my next post with something "gayer"...

Over and "Out", on a very HOT day, from Richmond, VA