The Court has made clear today that public disclosure requirements are an important means of making sure measures are not put on the ballot by fraudulent means or mistake.
“Public disclosure thus helps ensure that the only signatures counted are those that should be, and that the only referenda placed on the ballot are those that garner enough valid signatures. Public disclosure also promotes transparency and accountability in the electoral process to an extent other measures cannot. In light of the foregoing, we reject plaintiffs’ argument and conclude that public disclosure of referendum petitions in general is substantially related to the important interest of preserving the integrity of the electoral process.”This 8- 1 ruling by the highest court in the land is a significant defeat for those who have sought to enshrine discrimination into law at the ballot box. Nowhere is the integrity and transparency of elections more important than where the ballot box is being used in an attempt to take away fundamental rights. Nowhere is it more important for the public to know that attempts to affect the lives of their fellow citizens by promoting ballot measures are free from fraud and error. Perhaps no other group has witnessed its rights put up for public vote more than LGBT Americans. Social conservatives have used ballot measures in state after state, over more than 30 years, to keep LGBT Americans from being able to adopt children, to marry and even to be protected from discrimination in housing and employment.
This is the third loss for these groups in our state over the past year as they tried to repeal legislation ensuring that all families are treated equally under Washington State law. First the State PDC said no when these same groups tried to hide their donors. Then voters approved Referendum 71, retaining the law, by more than 53%. Now the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the proponents’ attempt to undermine disclosure laws.
With regard to the assertion by the anti-gay groups that they would be harmed if petition signatures were subject to public disclosure, as Justice Stevens said in his concurring opinion,
“Any burden on speech that petitioners posit is speculative as well as indirect. For an as-applied challenge to a law such as the PRA to succeed, there would have to be a significant threat of harassment directed at those who sign the petition that cannot be mitigated by law enforcement measures.”The Supreme Court has in the past allowed narrow exemptions to public disclosure where there’s a clear minority party that has suffered both official and societal retaliation by the majority and where there is strong evidence that such disclosure presents a serious threat. With regard to Referendum 71, however, the groups making this claim were not the minority, but to the contrary, were the ones trying to diminish the rights of the minority. They will be hard pressed to convince a judge the record here is otherwise.
In an amicus brief provided to the Supreme Court in Doe v. Reed, a group of political scientists reported that not only was the assertion of alleged harassment unsubstantiated in Washington State, but the plaintiffs did not present a single verified threat to any signer of a ballot measure petition in any state in any election. As their brief said, “More than a million names of signers of petitions for referenda and initiatives opposing gay marriage have been posted on the Internet, yet there is no evidence that any of these signers has faced any threat of retaliation or harassment by reason of that disclosure.”
WAFST applauds today’s decision and thanks all those who filed briefs and supported our collective efforts as we fought over the last year to protect the rights of all Washingtonians.
SCOTUS Rules 8-1 To Support R-71 Names Disclosure
WA Domestic Partnership Bill Passes Legislature
A comprehensive domestic partnership bill passed the Washington state legislature's lower house Wednesday by a vote of 62-35.Previously, the bill had passed the upper house by a vote of 30-18.
Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire has announced that she will happily sign the measure into law.
Two year ago, Governor Gregoire signed another domestic partner bill into law which conveyed limited benefits to the 5,712 couples that have registered in the interim. The new comprehensive bill provides all rights and responsibilities that state law affords to married couples to registered domestic partners.
Washington will join California, Oregon, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia with significant recognition of same-sex couples. Subsequently, Connecticut and Vermont have enacted marriage equality for same-sex couples.
Maine, Colorado, Hawaii and Maryland have limited domestic partnership laws in effect also.
Top 10 Movies of 2007
However, I want to make sure the list to be a list of the best movies that I actually saw in 2007, since my previous Top 10 list was published here.
10. 3:10 to Yuma. The best western since Unforgiven stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in a remake of a classic which matches the original for intensity and suspense--with the added benefit of a scenery-chewing performance by Ben Foster as the fey psycho violent sidekick.
9. Boy Culture. What? A well-written gay movie? Yes, Virginia, they do exist! This romantic comedy had very handsome actors interacting in a surprisingly real and really surprising way.
8. 300. A homoerotic smorgasbord of computer generated ultraviolence masquerading as a historic epic. "1800 abs" was a unique visual experience, very stimulating and although story-deficient, oddly compelling.
7. Ratatouille. The latest film from Brad Bird, the creator of my 2004 favorite film, The Incredibles is the creative force behind this tour de force animated masterpiece from the magicians at Pixar about a rat in a Paris restaurant who loves to cook.
6. 28 Weeks Later / Sunshine. From the mind of Danny Boyle (28 Days Later) and each featuring Rose Byrne comes these two very different, science-fiction based action films. 28 Weeks Later is actually more effective than the original. Sunshine is an absolutely gorgeous spaceship-based thriller influenced by seminal films like Alien and 2001.
5. The Simpsons Movie. Like a really good, 90-minute episode of The Simpsons--what's not to like?
4. The Namesake. I may be influenced by my trip to India last year, but I was greatly moved by this film adaptation of one of my favorite books by Jhumpa Lahiri. The story is about the intergeneration conflict between immigrant parents and their American born children. In addition, the acting by Kal Penn and Irfan Khan is extraordinary, and Mira Nair's directing is at her most proficient to date.
3. Sicko/¡Salud!. The health care crisis in the United States is only growing worse day after day and these two documentaries pointed out the ridiculous state of affairs while also highlighting that there are other solutions many other countries around the world have identified and implemented.
2. The Bourne Ultimatum. A technically flawless summer action movie helmed by director Peter Greengrass and carried by Matt Damon which starts with the accelerator to the floor and doesn't let up until the final frame.
1. Juno. The most enjoyable time I spent at the movies all year was watching this heartfelt, pitch-perfect comedy that has an impact which is felt long after the movie is over. Diablo Cody's script along with an incredible ensemble cast headed by the hitherto unheralded Ellen Page in the title role are destined to receive Oscar recognition.
Honorable Mentions: The Host, American Gangster, Hairspray and I Am Legend.
REVIEW: American Gangster
Saw Ridley Scott's American Gangster starring Oscar winners Denzel Washington (Glory, Training Day) and Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) from a script by Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List) at my favorite second-run theaters in Pasadena (Regency Academy Theaters) this weekend.Although it is billed as two-star vehicle, it is clearly Denzel's show and he runs away with the film, although I was impressed with Crowe's understatedly effective work. It is unlikely it will bring him his 4th Oscar nomination, although it is likely it will bring Denzel his 6th.
What the most impressive feature of the film to me was Ridley Scott's direction. I was shocked to discover that the creative force behind Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Legend (1985), Thelma & Louise (1991) and Gladiator (2000) has been nominated 3 times (Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down) but never won an Oscar or Director's Guild of America Award.
The film is set in the late 1960s and early 1970s in New York City and New Jersey and reproduces this era with amazing precision and verisimilitude. Additionally, the story is pretty complex, recounting the details of how Frank Lucas became the most "dangerous drug dealer in New York City, even bigger than the mafia" in the words of Richie Roberts, the detective who locked him up. However, through clever pacing and non-showy direction, Scott weaves the tale with an ever increasing level of suspense despite the fact the ending is known walking into the theater.
The only caveat to my enthusiasm for the film is its shockingly retrograde depiction of women.
First of all, it is a testosterone-fueled film, with all the central characters depicted by men, from Lucas (Denzel) and Roberts (Russell) as the two main protagonists followed by Denzel's lieutentants played by his brothers and every single cop being male. The female characters are Denzel's wife, Denzel's mother, Russell's estranged wife and Denzel's drug production lieutenant. None of these characters is afforded agency and most of them are depicted one dimensionally. There are several incidental depictions of females as (mainly nude) objects of entertainment for men or as drug-addicted irresponsible caregivers.
Despite this drawback, overall American Gangster is a well-made, suspenseful period crime drama featuring two notable performances from two Oscar-level actors working at the top of their game.
GRADE: B+/A-
