San Francisco Anti-Bigotry Resolution Back in Court
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agrees to revisit First Amendment case
By JACKSON WEST
Updated 5:45 PM PST, Fri, Nov 6, 2009
When Cardinal William Levada of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco told Catholic agencies not to let same-sex couples adopt children in 2006, it pissed off a majority of the Board of Supervisors.
So the supes passed a resolution condemning the remarks, saying the statement was "hateful."
Which, naturally, pissed off a couple of Catholics who promptly sued, saying the resolution was an unconstitutional abrogation of their First Amendement right to bigotry or something, and want the resolution stricken from the record.
The case was dismissed by a three judge panel, but counsel for the plaintiffs appealed, and a full 11 judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is now considering the case anew.
"It is not a stretch to compare the San Francisco Board's action to that of the Nazi Germany policy of ... vilifying Jews as an auxiliary to and laying the groundwork for more repressive policies," said Robert Thompson, Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center that filed the appeal in June.
Not necessarily the best example to use, considering the Vatican's refusal to publicly intervene in said Nazi vilification of Jews.
At the time, Pope Pius XII cited political neutrality of the church in not decrying the Nazis, while the lawsuit claims the supervisors breached the religious neutrality of the state in passing the resolution.
Jackson West says Jesus wept, people. Jesus wept.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Nov 6, 2009 4:16 PM PST
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