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or a disasterous repeat of Bowers v Hardwick. Brown v Board wasn't the first civil rights victory in the Courts. It was preceded by cases involving law and medical schools as well as universities. But Brown v Board was the beginning of the end of legal segregation in the public accomodations used by most people. Simiarly if gays win this case, then governmental discrimination against gays will be outlawed at all levels. We will still have the hard work of passing either a federal ENDA statute or the 30 or so state ones we are short now, but our governments will have to treat us as equals.
Truthfully, I am a bit worried we might have a rerun of Bowers here. The ACLU pressed that case thinking that with the simpathetic facts of that case we would win. Instead we lost and it took another 17 years to see the decision overturned. Here we are leading with our chin. I would have preferred a rerun of Shahar vs Bowers. In that case Bowers, who was committing adultery (also against Georgia law) at the time, fired Shahar when she married her wife on the grounds that it would make it impossible for Bowers to uphold the sodomy law. The 11th circuit upheld the firing and the SCOTUS refused to take the case. This would be an easier case to make. Governments firing or refusing to hire people simply for being gay is recognized, even among most conservatives, as fundamentally wrong. Marriage on the other hand, is a sticking point for even liberals such as Biden and Obama. The fact is, Olson, who is sincere, is also human. Just like the ACLU in the 1980's he could be just wrong about what Kennedy will do. I hope he isn't. If we in this case, it is all but game over for gay rights. If we lose, people my age may well die without a right to marry.
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