Former Bush Solicitor General Ted Olson is joining with David Boies to advocate for repeal of California’s Prop 8. Olson and Boies opposed each other in the Bush v Gore case in 2000 (I’m not sure if I can forgive Olson for helping to give us Bush). Olson is no doubt very conservative, his name was mentioned for SCOTUS vacancies during the Bush administration. Is there a new trend of conservatives supporting gay rights? Recently I’ve seen McCain aide Steve Schmidt, Meghan McCain and now Ted Olson come out in favor of same-sex marriage.
Their argument: the State of California giving same sex couples “the separate-but-unequal institution of domestic partnership,” instead of full marriage, violates equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, creating a class of “second-class citizens”
“We believe this is the kind of matter where Americans must come together and recognize the rights of all citizens,” Olson told the AP.
“This is a federal question,” he said, expressing the desire that the case end up before the US Supreme Court. This is about the rights of individuals to be treated equally and not be stigmatized.”
“For a long time I’ve personally felt that we are doing a grave injustice for people throughout this country by denying equality to gay and lesbian individuals,” Olson told The Advocate. “The individuals that we represent and will be representing in this case feel they’re being denied their rights. And they’re entitled to have a court vindicate those rights.”
I welcome all the help we can get on marriage equity. My question is this: why now? Wouldn’t Olson’s advocacy on behalf of same-sex couples have been more impactful when he was Solicitor General in a Republican administration? What actions did Olson take as Solicitor General on DOMA or DADT?