Connecticut

Gay Connecticut Supreme Court justice calls out U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on same-sex marriage ruling repeal idea

Published

2 years ago

June 28, 2022

Gay Connecticut Supreme Court justice calls out U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on same-sex marriage ruling repeal idea

(L-R) Affiliate Supreme Court docket Justice Clarence Thomas and his spouse and conservative activist Virginia Thomas arrive on the Heritage Basis on October 21, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Drew Angerer | Getty Photographs

A homosexual Connecticut Supreme Court docket justice advised that U.S. Supreme Court docket Justice Clarence Thomas was being hypocritical in calling for reconsideration of rulings making certain authorized rights for homosexual folks — whereas not calling for the repeal of an identical ruling that permits Thomas to be married to a white girl.

Andrew McDonald, a senior affiliate justice on Connecticut’s excessive courtroom, took a shot at Thomas in a Fb submit after the U.S. Supreme Court docket justice leveraged a ruling that repealed the constitutional proper to abortion to publicly name for the highest U.S. courtroom to doubtlessly reverse rulings that bar states from outlawing homosexual intercourse and homosexual marriage.

“Mr. Justice Thomas had a lot to say at this time about my loving marriage. Oddly he did not have a lot to say about his ‘Loving’ marriage,” wrote McDonald, who married his husband Charles in 2009 when McDonald was serving within the state legislature.

“Loving” is a reference to “Loving v. Virginia,” the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court docket ruling that overturned a Virginia legislation barring interracial marriages. It successfully invalidated different such bans nationally.

Thomas, who’s Black, lives together with his white spouse Virginia “Ginni” Thomas in Virginia — a mirror picture of the white husband and Black spouse who have been the plaintiffs in “Loving.”

Andrew J. McDonald, proper, with husband, Charles Grey, left.

Source: Keelin Daly | ST

The couple within the case, Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, had been convicted of violating Virginia’s legislation and sentenced to a 12 months in jail. The sentence was suspended after they agreed to depart the state and never return for 25 years.

McDonald’s wedding ceremony ceremony was performed by then-Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy. As Connecticut governor 4 years later, he efficiently nominated McDonald to develop into the second brazenly homosexual man to serve on an American state’s Supreme Court docket.

McDonald married his husband six years earlier than the U.S. Supreme Court docket within the ruling Obergefell v. Hodges barred states from outlawing same-sex marriages.

On this Feb. 26, 2018 photograph, Connecticut Supreme Court docket Justice Andrew McDonald, nominee for chief justice, speaks earlier than the state judiciary Committee in Hartford, Conn.

Michael McAndrews | Hartford Courant through AP

Thomas, in his concurring opinion Friday on the choice to overturn the 49-year-old Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling, recognized three previous rulings that he referred to as “demonstrably incorrect choices”: the Supreme Court docket’s ruling in Obergefell, a 2003 excessive courtroom case that established the best to have homosexual intercourse, and a 1965 case establishing married {couples}’ proper to contraception.

However Thomas didn’t point out a fourth Supreme Court docket resolution which relies on related authorized grounds to the opposite three: “Loving v. Virginia.”

“Loving” was determined partially by the Supreme Court docket on the grounds that Virginia’s legislation violated the Due Course of Clause of the Structure’s 14th Modification. That clause ensures that no state shall “deprive any particular person of life, liberty, or property with out due technique of legislation.”

So have been the three different Supreme Court docket choices that Thomas referred to as out in his concurring opinion.

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In that, Thomas wrote, “As a result of any substantive due course of resolution is ‘demonstrably faulty’ … we’ve got an obligation to ‘right the error’ established in these precedents.’”

McDonald declined to touch upon his Fb submit when contacted by CNBC.

A Supreme Court docket spokeswoman didn’t instantly reply to a request for Thomas to touch upon McDonald’s submit.

Thomas, in his dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges, had chafed at the concept that so-called antimiscegenation legal guidelines banning interracial marriage have been similar to related legal guidelines banning marriage between same-sex {couples}.

“The suggestion of petitioners and their amici that antimiscegenation legal guidelines are akin to legal guidelines defining marriage as between one man and one girl is each offensive and inaccurate,” Thomas wrote in a footnote in his dissent.

He famous that America’s earliest legal guidelines banning interracial intercourse and marriage have been based mostly on the existence of slavery within the colonies and later states.

“Legal guidelines defining marriage as between one man and one girl don’t share this sordid historical past,” Thomas added. “The normal definition of marriage has prevailed in each society that has acknowledged marriage all through historical past.”

However on Friday, Jim Obergefell, the plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges, stated Thomas left Loving v. Virginia off the listing of instances he needs reverse as a result of “it impacts him personally.”

“However he would not care in regards to the LGBTQ+ neighborhood,” Obergefell stated on the MSNBC present “The Reid Out.”

“I am simply involved that lots of of 1000s of marriages throughout this nation are in danger and the power of individuals throughout this nation to marry the particular person they love is in danger,” Obergefell stated on that present.

He added: “And for Justice Thomas to fully omit Loving v. Virginia, in my thoughts, is sort of telling.”

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Connecticut

Caitlin Clark craze coming to Connecticut this week

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6 hours ago

May 11, 2024

Press Room

Caitlin Clark craze coming to Connecticut this week

UNCASVILLE – The WNBA’s Caitlin Clark era begins Tuesday night, and the Connecticut Sun have the honor of being at the epicenter of the Clark phenomena. They host the Indiana…

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Connecticut

Connecticut Democrats unanimously nominate U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy for a third term

Published

13 hours ago

May 11, 2024

Press Room

Connecticut Democrats unanimously nominate U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy for a third term

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Connecticut Democrats unanimously endorsed U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy for a third term on Saturday, praising his efforts on gun control, immigration reform and foreign policy.

Murphy’s enthusiastic backing from the party faithful happened quickly at the Democratic State Convention, held at the Mohegan Sun resort and casino. He had no opposition.

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Connecticut

Connecticut takes aim at the college affordability crisis — 'We're trying to do everything we can,' governor says

Published

20 hours ago

May 11, 2024

Press Room

Connecticut takes aim at the college affordability crisis — 'We're trying to do everything we can,' governor says

Hartford, Connecticut

Sean Pavone | Istock | Getty Images

When it comes to improving access to higher education, each state is largely left to its own devices. Some are trying a broader array of tactics than others.

Connecticut, for example, recently rolled out several programs to establish pathways to college and lower the debt burden.

Connecticut has also maintained one of the largest wealth gaps in the country for years. The state is hoping its college aid endeavors could help change that.

Getting a degree offers the best shot at social mobility, according to Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, which could help narrow the income divide.

Still, these plans have mostly flown under the radar. “We have these incentive programs, but nobody knows about them,” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont told CNBC.

Here’s a closer look at three of those initiatives — and how they’ve fared so far.

Free college program

“We’re trying to do everything we can to make education less expensive to start with,” Lamont said.

Like a growing number of states, Connecticut recently introduced a free tuition program for students attending community college either full- or part-time. In Connecticut, students receive “last-dollar” scholarships, meaning the program pays for whatever tuition and fees are left after federal aid and other grants are applied.

Since the program started, in the 2020-21 academic year, nearly 34,000 students have participated.

Free college is one of the best ways to combat the college affordability crisis, some experts say, because it appeals more broadly to those struggling in the face of rising college costs, rather than the student loan burden after the fact. A federal effort has yet to get off the ground, although President Joe Biden continues to push for free community college nationwide and included it in his $7.3 trillion budget for fiscal 2025.

However, critics say that lower-income students, through a combination of existing grants and scholarships, already pay little in tuition to two-year schools, if anything at all.

Further, free college programs do not generally cover books or other expenses, such as room and board, that lower-income students also struggle with.

Automatic admission program

To make a four-year degree more accessible, Connecticut introduced an automatic admission program to some Connecticut colleges for high school seniors in the top 30% of their class.

The program, signed into law in 2021, aims to make it easier for high school students, especially those from underserved communities, to go to college. In the most recent application cycle, 2,706 students were offered direct admission through the program.

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Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Chancellor Terrence Cheng said the free-tuition program and the automatic admissions program “are just two examples of steps CSCU and the state have taken to remove barriers to higher education, particularly for first-generation college and minoritized students.”

And yet, for lower-income students, the cost can still be a deterrent, said Sandy Baum, senior fellow at Urban Institute’s Center on Education Data and Policy.

“Both admitting students and telling them how easy it is to pay for it is most helpful, but for students on the margin, they face so many expenses in addition to tuition they will still need to overcome,” Baum said.

Student loan payment tax credit

Next up, the state is rolling out a student loan repayment program to lessen graduates’ debt burden.

In 2019 Lamont signed Public Act 19-86, which created a new tax credit for Connecticut employers who help pay off their employees’ student loans. The tax credit was expanded in 2022 and will be implemented in the months ahead.

“It helps the student, it pays down their debt, makes it very predictable [and] gives businesses an incentive to hire, so it’s a great economic development driver,” Lamont said.

Still, some graduates already pay little or nothing through the federal government’s income-driven repayment plans, Baum said, so borrowers may be better served with a salary increase. “If employers paid more, that would be a lot more fair.”

Ultimately, these programs are all helpful to some degree, but successfully narrowing the wealth gap — in Connecticut and elsewhere — should include assistance for students while they are in college, Baum said.

Improving student outcomes by providing academic and social support in addition to financial aid is the best way to level the playing field, she said.

Many young adults start college, fewer finish. “Rather than focusing on getting people in the door … getting people through is going to have a much bigger impact,” Baum said.

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