The Opinion Blog

Calif. joins Mass. (for now) on same-sex marriage

Ripped from the wires ... In an editorial today, the San Jose Mercury News cheers the California Supreme Court's voiding Thursday of that state's same-sex marriage ban, on the ground it is unconstitutional. The newspaper also worries that a ballot initiative now in the works could overturn the ruling:

The California Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that marrying someone of your own choosing is a fundamental civil right that applies to all. Californians have cause to celebrate this landmark decision.

The legalizing of same-sex marriage is a historic advancement of equality that should not be reversed.

Opponents, who are on the verge of putting a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the ballot in November, should read the majority's well-reasoned opinion. The jurists based their decision not on personal, moral or religious beliefs, but on the obligation to protect individual rights.

REAL ID an affront to America's core principles

From Gov. Mark Sanford today comes this missive on the weaknesses of the federal REAL ID program.

By Mark Sanford

If I was a betting man, I'd wager that most people haven't followed the debate on REAL ID. If you indeed missed it, I would ask that you take the time to learn about what I consider the most troubling piece of legislation I've seen come from Washington since I've been governor.

REAL ID would surreptitiously require all fifty states to change their driver's licenses to act as de-facto national ID cards. It's outrageous, and not just because it was a backdoor way of doing something proponents in Washington have never been able to pull off in the past. I say outrageous because Real ID was never really debated in Congress; because the cost of its implementation is handed down to states and individuals; and because it is an affront to Americans' privacy concerns.

MLK's inspiration has outlasted his critics

Ripped from the wires ... Today is the 40th anniversary of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis. New York Times columnist David Brooks notes that the civil rights leader has left us a useful model for transcending anger and recklessness in public discourse, as we try to work out the many problems that vex us.

By DAVID BROOKS

On Wednesday morning I was in Memphis, and I walked over to the Lorraine Motel, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 40 years ago Friday. I toured the National Civil Rights Museum and then went up to the room by the balcony where King was shot.

The Rev. Billy Kyles happened to be filming a documentary with his daughter Dwania as I arrived, going through a second-by-second account of the last moments of King's life. The Rev. Kyles was with King when he was shot and was due to host him for dinner that evening.

Let's face it: The commies are still the commies

Ripped from the wires ... L.A. Daily News columnist Bridget Johnson notes that even though Vietnam has achieved full membership in the global capitalist economy, its communist leaders still suppress democratic and religious rights -- while U.S. officials turn a blind eye:

BY BRIDGET JOHNSON

When pressed last year on human rights during his historic visit to D.C., Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet passed off violations as a "different understanding'' that needed to be taken in context of "historical backgrounds and conditions.''

Pro-democracy Vietnamese, however, understand well the conditions in place to systematically keep their voices silent. Now an apparent memo from the top tells the story.