Forum on Gay Marriage

Tonight at 7:00 Tulane is hosting a panel discussion on gay marriage, and I plan on attending it. I'll post more information on the speakers in a bit. During and after the panel I'll summarize the arguments made by each of the speakers, and then conclude with my own evaluation.

As I mentioned below, this fall Louisiana will vote on an amendment to the state constitution that would ban gay marriage. Opponents of the amendment have launched a series of legal challenges in state court, and as of this time it appears they have all failed - meaning the only question is whether or not it will pass. A law school is as good a place as any, I suppose, to debate that question, although the legal ramifications of the amendment are distinct from the social issues behind the desire for (or opposition to) the amendment.

Update: The speakers for tonight's program are listed as:

Chris Daigle from Equity Louisiana
Randy Evans from Forum for Equity
Rev. Gene Mills from LA Family Forum
Rep. Steve Scalise (R.- Metairie) - Amendment author
Moderator Robert Scott, Chief of the Times-Picayune Baton Rouge Bureau

Update: Here is the text of the proposed amendment:

To provide that marriage in this state shall consist of the union of one man and one woman, that legal incidents of marriage shall not be conferred on a member of any union other than such union, and that the state shall not validate or recognize a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals or any marriage contracted in any other jurisdiction which is not the union of one man and one woman.

The proposed amendment has been approved by the state legislature, and will be voted upon Sept. 18, in spite of fierce legal battles to delay or stop the voting. It's an interesting bit of text, primarily the bit at the end which seeks to override (?) the "full faith and credit" clause of the U.S. Constitution. I suspect Rep. Scalise would pick a word other that "override," but I'm not sure if there's a more accurate one. Also, I wonder if perhaps the proposed amendment isn't reaching a little further than necessary to accomplish Scalise's goal. But more on that later, after the panel.

Embarassing update that reveals me as an idiot: The panel isn't until next Tuesday. Boy is my face red. Normally it's green, you see. I'm a crocodile.