The Legal Moose’s Glen

Tried to go shopping today, post-pride. Wanting to not waste petrol, and since I was already warm from walking around at the pride festival, I biked over to Barracks Row to hit the local bike shop and the local yarn shop. Someone, however, had other ideas for me.

• Strike One: Local Bike Shop no longer carries nutrition products, the sole thing I needed.
• Strike Two: Local Yarn Shop doesn’t have any of the notions I wanted to pick up.
• Strike Three: Picked up my mail from yesterday on the way back into the building, and the every-two-years-like-clockwork jury duty summons was in there.

I get the picture, I’m staying in the rest of the day.

Earlier I did go down to the Pride festival for DC. Was nice, nothing particularly smashing, but I enjoyed it. Saw several folks I don’t see much of these days, picked up a bracelet (bike chain pattern), got some sun (no burn though - yay SPF 30). I didn’t go out to the parade last night - I didn’t want to go drinking after or during after yesterday morning’s race, and honestly I prefer the festival for people watching and talking. Instead I finished up Half-Life 2: Episode One on the Xbox (didn’t take long, actually), finished a knitting sampler I was working on (increases and decreases, various methods), and started the next project - BC’s hat, to match the scarf. The hat, after the initial cast on and row, is coming along quite nicely, especially in comparison to the scarf. We’ll see how it goes when I have to start decreasing and slip it over to the double pointed needles.

Question for my knitting friends: Do they not make aluminium or metal needles these days? Mom has a ton (which I will filch from her in due time), and I like the feel of them, but almost everything I see other than Addi Turbos are wood of some sort (or bamboo). What gives?

Wanted to jot down some quick “day after” thoughts on the in re Marriage Cases decision that was handed down yesterday in California.

Procedurally, the case is now remanded back to the Court of Appeals for action consistent with the Court’s opinion. Clearly, part of that action is the invalidation of the parts of the marriage law, both for in-state and for recognition of out-of-state marriages, which limit “marriage” to opposite-sex couples. Same-sex couples will be able to marry once the Court of Appeals takes action. What is less clear is the status of those who have entered into domestic partnerships under California law. The Court did not explicitly address the domestic partnership statutes in the final part of their decision. It’s now unclear how the Court of Appeals and/or the legislature will address the issue.

From my limited view of California law (culled pretty much entirely from the decision), part of the elligibility for a domestic partnership was inelligibility for marriage. If the courts were to read the new availability of marriage as invalidating current domestic partnerships without making the partners go through the usual 6 month process for dissolution of the partnership, that might not be a bad thing. What I don’t see them doing is automatically converting partnerships to marriages, at least not by the court alone. The legislature could make such a thing a possibility, and I would hope they would do so for partnerships where one of the partners has died (since other rights and responsibilities for partnerships were added retroactively even for partnerships where one member was deceased, according to the decision), but I would not impose the full structure of marriage on those who entered into a partnership without their express consent.

The other thorny issue is those partnerships where the main reason was for support of the elderly, and not for “marriage light.” Not even going to touch that one, but it would be good if they kept that part of the partnership law in place.

In any case, those folks who are in valid domestic partnerships under California law now find themselves in a legal limbo, not knowing where they’re going to come out. Will the courts declare them de facto married? Will their partnerships get dissolved without being married? Will they have to go through the six month process to dissolve the partnership in order to get married? The Court didn’t address this, which was a weakness of the decision, in my opinion.

The other interesting note in the decision was the Court’s explanation of how the Governor was correct to veto the two attempts by the legislature to pass full gay marriage statutes. In essence, because Prop 22 was passed by initiative and because it did not allow for the legislature to change the law without putting the change to a vote, as is required by the California constitution. The statutes would not have been upheld by the courts, and as such the Governor was simply exercising his constitutional duty to veto legislation which he (properly) did not feel was constitutional. See footnotes 16-17 and the surrounding text. Knowing that puts his veto in a much better light, especially viewed together with his opposition to the current attempt to amend the state constitution to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.

I won’t get into the classification of “sexual orientation” as a suspect class under California law except to say, “Wow, that was unexpected, yet quite, quite cool.” Smarter folks than I would better address all of the ramifications of that.

The slip opinion (.pdf file there) of the California Supreme Court in in re Marriage Cases is a doozy - 172 pages.

But let me tell you, reading the summary in the first 11-12 pages is a joy.

I feel irrationally nervy about today’s announcement from the California Supreme Court in their consolidated same-sex marriage cases.

• Went dancing last night. First time in years (literally). Had a friend ask BC if he had known I could dance. His response: “Oh course; I’ve slept with him.”
• Saw Rambo this past week. The highlight: a trailer for Midnight Meat Train. The trailer was all serious, looked good, Wes Craven, etc., then they announced the title in this deep, serious voice. I about spit out the water I was drinking. So going to see it when it’s out.
• Brunch sometime around 3 this afternoon, after recovering from last night. Dragged Brian out for it, and was good to see him.
• Busy, busy at work. Not sure that there’s an end in sight for any of it, but I’ll just keep slogging through it.
• Did a sample swatch of stockinette stitch (finally taught myself to purl yesterday), and learned how to bind off the swatches. I need to go get a needle so I can weave in the ends. That and drag BC to Stitch to pick out some thread for a scarf. Which will be a good excuse to pick up more needles, too, since the pattern calls for a circular needle (I know, it’s not strictly necessary, but hey, why not?).
• And with that, it’s crash time

Earlier today I finally posted one of the three race reports that I need to do. Still have this past weekend’s 10k and the 1/2 marathon from April yet to write up.

Work’s gotten a tad better. I spent a good bit of time cleaning off my desk, recycling or filing things. Part of that was finally having passed a draft to management of a long-term project, so while I waited for feedback I took some time to make some more work space available. Did get the needed feedback later in the afternoon so I now have more direction on which way to go, which is a very good thing, and I feel a lot better about the project. I suspect I’d have been better off chatting with da boss for a bit on this thing rather than operating in quite the vacuum I was working in, but so be it. A lesson for next time. In the meantime, I’m good to go and feeling better.

The crush continues apace. We spent most of pride weekend together, a lovely bit of time with friends and hanging out and wandering around seeing tons of folks whom I never see because either I or they never go out (or never go out to the same places). A tad too much alcohol was consumed Saturday, but these things happen. At least a couple people met the crush and I got approvals back from those who did.

Back to serious training this week. Cycled this morning, will run and swim tomorrow. 88 more days until the half-ironman, aka “Ironman 70.3″ race as they’re calling them these days (if you total up the swim, bike and run miles it comes to 70.3 miles: 1.2, 56, and 13.1; a full Ironman is twice that). I can do it, and I’m pretty sure I’ll actually enjoy it, too, but it’ll certainly be a challenge. Looking forward to it.

Left work early this evening to bike home ahead of a line of thunderstorms that rolled through downtown around 5:35 or so. Just managed to get in before the rain started, so glad I left when I did. Wasn’t very long, but was very intense, and was right at closing time for me. Did up a batch of steamed dumplings for dinner. I’m trying out various pre-made ones and so far this manufacturer is winning hands down. Interesting taste, spiced just right, cooked easily, stayed together, but didn’t stick to one another. The first batch was okay, the second (boiled) batch turned into one giant mass-of-dumpling-dough-and-filling.

Attended my second cult co-op meeting of the week tonight. While I led the last meeting (which is less formal than most), this one I wish I had led. Oh. Em. Gee. Talk about toxic. The older committee members seem to have some sort of complex about years of perceived abuse that’s supposedly been heaped on them and they’re just a mess. I think we could have gotten all of the work done in an hour, maybe a little more, rather than the 1.5+ hour rambling session that passed for a meeting. What a cluster fuck. I may have to shoot the board member who talked me into getting on this thing.

Oh, and last but not least the little man purse extra small messenger bag I ordered to tool around town with finally arrived today (not those colors, though - I did a custom one in burgundy/steel/burgundy with a moss liner and a silver logo). Mmm, pretty… I wanted something to carry a few small things with if I bike somewhere in town that wasn’t my huge messenger bag (both to have the smaller bag and not to layer my entire back in a nice, unbreathing sweat bag). I think it’ll do the trick nicely.

(This was typed on my Treo earlier this evening - just getting home to post it)

Spring is here, even if it’s not.

The temperatures outside have been hovering in the 30s to 50s for the past week. Snow was seen the Saturday before Easter. Flowers are having problems staying up and in bloom. However, despite all this, I know it’s Spring. Because my default fall-back waiting-for-someone-after-I’ve-just-gotten-my-hair-cut 17th Street bar, 30 Degrees, is busy on a Wednesday at 7:30.

The gays are out in force, they’re chatting away, looking stylish in either work drag (suit) or gay boy drag (jeans, sporty shirt), and drinking like the fish we are. If there were a clearer sign that warmer weather is on its way and that bad swimsuits and tank tops are just around the corner, I’m not sure what it would be.

The array of obsure yet terribly fashionable jeans alone is staggering. Patterns on pockets and pants legs which are hardly ever on display outside of you-have-to-be-introduced-by-someone-in-the-know dark shops are peeking out from under belts which betray the designer hopes of their wearers only in the subtle (or not so subtle) buckles. Boys are comparing power phone Blackberry and/or Treo cases and the latest models, and discussuons of who’s going where for which holidays and the summer months when DC decamps to Delaware in such numbers that Rehoboth and Dewey might as well be referred to as Washington in exile echo off the walls. The social pecking order is being established, and men are found desirable or lacking in the flash of a device or the dropping of a name.

Fancy drinks flow freely, like sap rising in the cherry trees around the Mall, and the definitive sign of Spring has come: the gay boys are out to mate.