Kevin and Don Norte
Encyclopedia
Kevin and Don Norte are a Los Angeles
based gay rights community activist couple involved in the movement at a grass roots level. They are both Log Cabin Republicans
gay Republican appointees to a governing body, when California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
appointed him to the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. The Governor's Committee is charged with developing a comprehensive strategy to assist disabled youth and adults to enter the workforce by focusing on the needs and interests of the worker, the employer, and the community. Don's appointed position did not require Senate confirmation and the position does not receive a salary. Don's term does not expire but Don serves at the will of the Governor of California. That Governor is now Jerry Brown. Don is the first Log Cabin Republican to remain an appointee under Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's administration.
In 2004, Don was involved in the Bobby Shriver for Santa Monica City Council Campaign and was one of about 10 named prominent community leader endorsers in Shriver's campaign literature.
Don Norte's career covers over twenty years of public service with Federal, State, and local government, including the US Defense Department and the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Don holds a BA
from Montclair State University
in New Jersey, and Masters Degree from New York University
's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he studied under Professor Rae Zimmerman, among others. Don served on the Board of Directors and later as President of the California Public Parking Association. Don has been employed by the City of West Hollywood's Department of Transportation and Public Works since 1990 and currently holds the position of Parking Services and Development Officer for the City’s parking division. Don currently served on the board of Log Cabin Republicans
– Los Angeles and he currently resides in Hollywood with his partner since high school, and now husband, Kevin.
In 2009, Don Norte was named the Program Chair of CPPAs 25th Annual Conference and secured San Francisco Assemblyperson Fiona Ma
as the Keynote Speaker.
In 2010, both Kevin and Don Norte were co-hosts at a fundraiser for Democratic San Francisco Assembly person and Speaker Pro Tempore Fiona Ma
for Fiona Ma's expected bid for the California Senate in 2014 (or 2012 depending on the election results for the new mayor of San Francisco).
Republican
American
attorney, community activist, and legal analyst. A former CPA
, he began his legal career as a law clerk
in 1991, later becoming an attorney, working in the public sector in Los Angeles County. He is a prominent gay Republican blog
ger, was involved with a pilot for a television series with Susan Berman
prior to her murder, writes on-line continuing education classes, and occasionally writes opinion pieces for such newspapers as the Los Angeles Times
, Daily Journal, and The Metropolitan News-Enterprise in Los Angeles.
The legal analyst was the City of West Hollywood's Rent Stabilization Commission
's first openly gay chair. He was appointed by then-City Council member Paul Koretz
in 1992 and served as chair for two one-year terms. According to City of West Hollywood public records, it was Kevin that initiated the policy of rotating the chair person of the commission on a yearly basis. From incorporation to 1994, according to city documents, the chair of the commission was the same person. Norte changed that with the help of two other commissioners. He served on the commission until he and his domestic partner Don moved to Hollywood. in 1999.
After the death of Miguel Contreras
, Martin Ludlow
began his short-lived rise to succeed him as the County's labor leader before he was indicted. Contreras had been the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO
). Ludlow resigned from his City Council position in anticipation of becoming Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the County Fed. Ludlow was challenged by Kevin Norte, a member of AFSCME Local 910. Kevin and Chavez withdrew without comment shortly prior to the election and have not spoken on the record about the events that transpired prior to the July 2005 election.
In early 2006, Kevin was appointed to the California Administrative Office of the Court's Trial Court Employee Working Group. The working group provides input to the Administrative Director of the Courts on the preparation, development, and implementation of the budget for the trial courts. The working group also shares information on other topics affecting the judicial branch and court employees. Also during 2006-2008, Kevin served as an "Alternative Member" of the County Central Committee of the Republican Party
of Los Angeles County for the 42nd Assembly District.
Kevin serves as treasurer for AFSCME Local 910, completed his term on the State Bar of California
's Committee on the Administration of Justice and remains, as of 2011, a delegate to Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO
. He was a trustee
of the Log Cabin Republicans and a former board member of LCR-California's Political Action Committee. Currently, Kevin is the main Blogger for BlogCabin of Hollywood.
's Gala Dinner in Los Angeles in the summer of 2008.
According to a recent blog by Huffington Post blogger Ryan J. Davis
, Davis flew out to Hollywood near the end of February to join a coalition of gay activists to lobby Gov. Schwarzenegger & First Lady Maria Shriver to publicly oppose the According to Davis, one of the group's main organizers, Kevin Norte, wrote on The California Log Cabin blog, "Someone had to fire the first shot. We did. We had some powerhouses there and the message was clear. We were not going away."
As reported in The Huffington Post
, the coalition had a broad base, including Matt Foreman
(former Executive Director, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force), Damon Romine (Former Entertainment Media Director, GLAAD), Geoff Kors (Former Executive Director, Equality California
), Charles Robbins (Executive Director, The Trevor Project
), John Duran
(President, Equality California & City Councilperson West Hollywood), Charles Moran, the Log Cabin Republicans' former LA Chapter President and LCR-CA VP, 2010, James Vaughn (former LCR CA Director)], and the organizers, Don Norte (Governor's Committee on Labor for People With Disabilities) and Kevin Norte (LCR CA Member, and former LCR-PAC Board of Directors).
On April 11, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger officially announced his opposition to the Initiative at LCR's National Convention. At Log Cabin's 2009 convention, Kevin Norte received the group's "Grassroots Leader Award". In May 2010, the couple represented LCR at the Long Beach Gay & Lesbian Pride Festival.
(2008) 43 Cal. 4th 757. That case is precedent-setting because it found the right to Same-sex marriage in California
. Norte analyzed the repercussion the case would have on Proposition 8
, the ballot initiative on the November 4, 2008 ballot.
That case found several constitutional rights under the California Constitution
and Kevin queried whether those constitutional rights could be simply abolished by a voter initiative or would the legislature have to place a constitutional revision on the ballot or determine whether a constitutional convention would have to be held.
Kevin Norte is the first legal analyst to publish an article in a legal newspaper of public record on the interactions between the historic Supreme Court's ruling and the California Initiative process. He explored the topic further in another expanded article in the Met-News on June 17, 2008, the first full day that gay marriage became legal in California. The legal education piece was entitled, "Election Law: How One Legally Might Remove a Ballot Initiative Prior to an Election". Norte posited that the language of the initiative was flawed and outdated. The legal analyst concluded that one could legitimately argue that the Court order the "California Secretary of State, to remove the proposed 'Limit on Marriage' Constitutional Amendment Initiative [Proposition 8
] from the November, 2008 ballot." The Supreme Court rejected this argument on July 16, 2008 without comment or ruling on the merits of the "revision" argument.
On June 20, 2008, the pro-same-gender marriage parties file a Writ of Mandate in the California Supreme Court in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle reporter Bob Elko reported that the coalition filed a writ to seek removal of the initiative. The grounds state in the writ petition were similar to those discussed in both the May 21, 2008 and June 17, 2008 articles authored by Norte but failed to reference the official reporter pages of the case. Kevin's second article contained the proper citations.
Norte has called the denial of the stay the start of what could be the "Gay Marriage Industrial Complex" with a gay marriage on the ballot at every election for the foreseeable future similar to the parental notification for underage abortion initiative. Norte regularly contributes articles and opinion pieces on Proposition 8 to the Met-Newsthe online OpEd News and BLOGCABIN.
In January 2009, the law firm of White and Case submitted an amicus brief on behalf of Log Cabin Republicans in the Supreme Court challenge to Proposition 8 based on Norte's writings. On May 26, 2009 the California Supreme Court upheld the validity of California's Proposition 8, however Associate Justice Carlos Moreno (most recently considered for an appointment to the United States Supreme Court) basically agreed with Norte's analysis. Moreno held that Prop. 8 should have been voided as an unlawful amendment. "The majority's holding is not just a defeat for same-sex couples, but for any minority group that seeks the protection of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution", he wrote. In the meantime, the Court carved out an exception for the 18,000 couples married while it was legal in California, including the Nortes.
The former Solicitor General of the United States, Theodore Olson
, filed a challenge to Proposition 8 in Federal Court based on a violation of Federal Equal Protection using the historic ROMER case as its precedent. As of 2010, Kevin authored a follow-up opinion piece to his 2008 marriage articles in which he praised California Supreme Court Associate Justice Carlos Moreno for having the courage for arguing that Norte's Revisionist Theory of Marriage is the correct analysis of the California Constitution, that issues like the constitutional right to "gay marriage" is a "legally certainty" but that it will not be "politically correct" for some time, and encouraged Judge Vaughn Walker to do the right thing and strike down California's Propposition 8 for what it is -- discrimination."
After Judge Vaughn Walker handed down his decision finding California's Proposition 8 "discrimination" echoing Norte's opinion expressed in his article, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in keeping his commitment to his friends, Log Cabin Republicans and the LGBT community in general sought to have the ruling applied immediately and commented. "The administration believes the public interest is best served by permitting the court's judgment to go into effect, thereby restoring the right of same-sex couples to marry in California", lawyers for Schwarzenegger said in the legal filing. "Doing so is consistent with California's long history of treating all people and their relationships with equal dignity and respect."
The language provided in California Family Code § 297.5 (a), reads as follows:
During the Legislative Session 2006-07, California AB 102 was drafted by San Francisco Assemblymember Fiona Ma
after the Norte's legal name status was called into question after the CA DMV adopted a policy to intentionally block other domestic partners after the Nortes from applying the California Family Code in a similar manner. The Nortes' involvement was mentioned in the description of a George Takei interview on Larry King.
AB 102 expanded on the concept of allowing domestic partners to take the name of a spouse, to include married couples so the husband would have the right to assume the last name of the wife. AB 102 was inclusive and consistent with Fam. Code § 297.5 by addressing marriages of different or the same genders. Name changes processed for domestic partners after AB 205 and prior to AB 102 originally permitted individuals to proceed with subsequent name change actions, including social security and passport documents. AB 102 passed the Assembly with three republican votes-Sam Blakeslee
, Roger Niello
, and Anthony Adams
. It passed the Senate on a straight party vote.
The reaction from opponents was swift after the Governor signed the bill. "AB 102 allows homosexual couples to hold themselves out as married by permitting them to choose the same surname upon registration of their 'domestic partnership'", per Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families. The bill granted unmarried couples married last names. "Schwarzenegger and the Democrat politicians have created the public image of homosexual "marriages" in California", said Thomasson, in response to the signing of AB 102. "It's hypocritical for Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto homosexual "'marriage'" licenses and at the very same time aggressively promote the public image of gay and lesbian "'marriages'" in every community for every child to see." Nonetheless, the Nortes' position on their name was finally resolved in the 2006-07 legislative session when AB 102 was signed into law by the Governor because the law is retroactive.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
based gay rights community activist couple involved in the movement at a grass roots level. They are both Log Cabin Republicans
Log Cabin Republicans
The Log Cabin Republicans is an organization that works within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C...
Don Norte
Don Norte is also one of the first openlyComing out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay Republican appointees to a governing body, when California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
appointed him to the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. The Governor's Committee is charged with developing a comprehensive strategy to assist disabled youth and adults to enter the workforce by focusing on the needs and interests of the worker, the employer, and the community. Don's appointed position did not require Senate confirmation and the position does not receive a salary. Don's term does not expire but Don serves at the will of the Governor of California. That Governor is now Jerry Brown. Don is the first Log Cabin Republican to remain an appointee under Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's administration.
In 2004, Don was involved in the Bobby Shriver for Santa Monica City Council Campaign and was one of about 10 named prominent community leader endorsers in Shriver's campaign literature.
Don Norte's career covers over twenty years of public service with Federal, State, and local government, including the US Defense Department and the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Don holds a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Montclair State University
Montclair State University
Montclair State University is a public research university located in the Upper Montclair section of Montclair, the Great Notch area of Little Falls, and Clifton, New Jersey. As of October 2009, there were 18,171 total enrolled students: 14,139 undergraduate students and 4,032 graduate students...
in New Jersey, and Masters Degree from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he studied under Professor Rae Zimmerman, among others. Don served on the Board of Directors and later as President of the California Public Parking Association. Don has been employed by the City of West Hollywood's Department of Transportation and Public Works since 1990 and currently holds the position of Parking Services and Development Officer for the City’s parking division. Don currently served on the board of Log Cabin Republicans
Log Cabin Republicans
The Log Cabin Republicans is an organization that works within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C...
– Los Angeles and he currently resides in Hollywood with his partner since high school, and now husband, Kevin.
In 2009, Don Norte was named the Program Chair of CPPAs 25th Annual Conference and secured San Francisco Assemblyperson Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma is the Speaker pro Tempore California State Assembly and a San Francisco politician, and a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.-Personal life:...
as the Keynote Speaker.
In 2010, both Kevin and Don Norte were co-hosts at a fundraiser for Democratic San Francisco Assembly person and Speaker Pro Tempore Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma is the Speaker pro Tempore California State Assembly and a San Francisco politician, and a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.-Personal life:...
for Fiona Ma's expected bid for the California Senate in 2014 (or 2012 depending on the election results for the new mayor of San Francisco).
Kevin Norte
Kevin Norte (aka Kevin Miguel) is a gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney, community activist, and legal analyst. A former CPA
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
, he began his legal career as a law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
in 1991, later becoming an attorney, working in the public sector in Los Angeles County. He is a prominent gay Republican blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, was involved with a pilot for a television series with Susan Berman
Susan Berman
Susan Berman was a reporter and author who was the daughter of Davie Berman, a mob figure in Las Vegas. She wrote extensively about her late-in-life realization of her father's place in a criminal empire...
prior to her murder, writes on-line continuing education classes, and occasionally writes opinion pieces for such newspapers as the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Daily Journal, and The Metropolitan News-Enterprise in Los Angeles.
The legal analyst was the City of West Hollywood's Rent Stabilization Commission
Rent control
Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
's first openly gay chair. He was appointed by then-City Council member Paul Koretz
Paul Koretz
Paul Koretz is an American politician. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing the Fifth Council District. He was previously a member of the California State Assembly and the West Hollywood City Council...
in 1992 and served as chair for two one-year terms. According to City of West Hollywood public records, it was Kevin that initiated the policy of rotating the chair person of the commission on a yearly basis. From incorporation to 1994, according to city documents, the chair of the commission was the same person. Norte changed that with the help of two other commissioners. He served on the commission until he and his domestic partner Don moved to Hollywood. in 1999.
After the death of Miguel Contreras
Miguel Contreras
fernando Contreras was an American labor union leader. He "was known as a king-maker for both local and state politicians."...
, Martin Ludlow
Martin Ludlow
Martin Ludlow was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council, representing the 10th district. He resigned effective June 30, 2005, when he became the head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. He pleaded guilty in state and federal courts the same year to charges that he had...
began his short-lived rise to succeed him as the County's labor leader before he was indicted. Contreras had been the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
). Ludlow resigned from his City Council position in anticipation of becoming Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the County Fed. Ludlow was challenged by Kevin Norte, a member of AFSCME Local 910. Kevin and Chavez withdrew without comment shortly prior to the election and have not spoken on the record about the events that transpired prior to the July 2005 election.
In early 2006, Kevin was appointed to the California Administrative Office of the Court's Trial Court Employee Working Group. The working group provides input to the Administrative Director of the Courts on the preparation, development, and implementation of the budget for the trial courts. The working group also shares information on other topics affecting the judicial branch and court employees. Also during 2006-2008, Kevin served as an "Alternative Member" of the County Central Committee of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
of Los Angeles County for the 42nd Assembly District.
Kevin serves as treasurer for AFSCME Local 910, completed his term on the State Bar of California
State Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California's official bar association. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, and prescribing appropriate discipline...
's Committee on the Administration of Justice and remains, as of 2011, a delegate to Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
. He was a trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
of the Log Cabin Republicans and a former board member of LCR-California's Political Action Committee. Currently, Kevin is the main Blogger for BlogCabin of Hollywood.
Log Cabin Republicans
Kevin and Don Norte were the only same sex couple to publicly endorse the Republican Schwarzenegger and were involved in the inauguration as a same sex couple in the program brochure The Nortes were sponsors of Log Cabin Republicans/Liberty Education Forum in Denver in 2007 and in San Diego in 2008 according to both program's booklets. The slightly right of center couple was also a table sponsor for Equality CaliforniaEquality California
Equality California or EQCA is a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California.-Early history:...
's Gala Dinner in Los Angeles in the summer of 2008.
According to a recent blog by Huffington Post blogger Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis is an American theater director, writer, political consultant, and progressive activist. In 2006, a musical he conceived, White Noise received positive reviews and was featured on Good Morning America and ABC Primetime Live...
, Davis flew out to Hollywood near the end of February to join a coalition of gay activists to lobby Gov. Schwarzenegger & First Lady Maria Shriver to publicly oppose the According to Davis, one of the group's main organizers, Kevin Norte, wrote on The California Log Cabin blog, "Someone had to fire the first shot. We did. We had some powerhouses there and the message was clear. We were not going away."
As reported in The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
, the coalition had a broad base, including Matt Foreman
Matt Foreman
Matt Foreman may refer to:*Matthew Foreman, mathematician*Matt Foreman...
(former Executive Director, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force), Damon Romine (Former Entertainment Media Director, GLAAD), Geoff Kors (Former Executive Director, Equality California
Equality California
Equality California or EQCA is a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California.-Early history:...
), Charles Robbins (Executive Director, The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is an American non-profit organization founded in 1998 and the leading national organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Through a toll-free telephone number, it operates The Trevor Lifeline, a...
), John Duran
John Duran
John J. Duran is an American municipal politician and a member of the city council of West Hollywood, California.-Political career:Duran was elected to the City Council on March 6, 2001. He succeeded outgoing City Council member Paul Koretz who was elected to the State Assembly. He had previously...
(President, Equality California & City Councilperson West Hollywood), Charles Moran, the Log Cabin Republicans' former LA Chapter President and LCR-CA VP, 2010, James Vaughn (former LCR CA Director)], and the organizers, Don Norte (Governor's Committee on Labor for People With Disabilities) and Kevin Norte (LCR CA Member, and former LCR-PAC Board of Directors).
On April 11, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger officially announced his opposition to the Initiative at LCR's National Convention. At Log Cabin's 2009 convention, Kevin Norte received the group's "Grassroots Leader Award". In May 2010, the couple represented LCR at the Long Beach Gay & Lesbian Pride Festival.
Involvement in Challenges to Proposition 8
Kevin Norte authored an opinion piece in the Metropolitan News-Enterprise of Los Angeles six days after the California Supreme Court's ruling on May 15, 2008 ruling in In re Marriage CasesIn re Marriage Cases
In re Marriage Cases 43 Cal.4th 757 [76 Cal.Rptr.3d 683, 183 P.3d 384], was a California Supreme Court case with the dual holding that "statutes that treat persons differently because of their sexual orientation should be subjected to strict scrutiny" and the existing "California legislative and...
(2008) 43 Cal. 4th 757. That case is precedent-setting because it found the right to Same-sex marriage in California
Same-sex marriage in California
The status of same-sex marriage in California is unique among the 50 U.S. states, in that the state formerly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has discontinued doing so...
. Norte analyzed the repercussion the case would have on Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
, the ballot initiative on the November 4, 2008 ballot.
That case found several constitutional rights under the California Constitution
California Constitution
The document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which...
and Kevin queried whether those constitutional rights could be simply abolished by a voter initiative or would the legislature have to place a constitutional revision on the ballot or determine whether a constitutional convention would have to be held.
Kevin Norte is the first legal analyst to publish an article in a legal newspaper of public record on the interactions between the historic Supreme Court's ruling and the California Initiative process. He explored the topic further in another expanded article in the Met-News on June 17, 2008, the first full day that gay marriage became legal in California. The legal education piece was entitled, "Election Law: How One Legally Might Remove a Ballot Initiative Prior to an Election". Norte posited that the language of the initiative was flawed and outdated. The legal analyst concluded that one could legitimately argue that the Court order the "California Secretary of State, to remove the proposed 'Limit on Marriage' Constitutional Amendment Initiative [Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
] from the November, 2008 ballot." The Supreme Court rejected this argument on July 16, 2008 without comment or ruling on the merits of the "revision" argument.
On June 20, 2008, the pro-same-gender marriage parties file a Writ of Mandate in the California Supreme Court in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle reporter Bob Elko reported that the coalition filed a writ to seek removal of the initiative. The grounds state in the writ petition were similar to those discussed in both the May 21, 2008 and June 17, 2008 articles authored by Norte but failed to reference the official reporter pages of the case. Kevin's second article contained the proper citations.
Norte has called the denial of the stay the start of what could be the "Gay Marriage Industrial Complex" with a gay marriage on the ballot at every election for the foreseeable future similar to the parental notification for underage abortion initiative. Norte regularly contributes articles and opinion pieces on Proposition 8 to the Met-Newsthe online OpEd News and BLOGCABIN.
In January 2009, the law firm of White and Case submitted an amicus brief on behalf of Log Cabin Republicans in the Supreme Court challenge to Proposition 8 based on Norte's writings. On May 26, 2009 the California Supreme Court upheld the validity of California's Proposition 8, however Associate Justice Carlos Moreno (most recently considered for an appointment to the United States Supreme Court) basically agreed with Norte's analysis. Moreno held that Prop. 8 should have been voided as an unlawful amendment. "The majority's holding is not just a defeat for same-sex couples, but for any minority group that seeks the protection of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution", he wrote. In the meantime, the Court carved out an exception for the 18,000 couples married while it was legal in California, including the Nortes.
The former Solicitor General of the United States, Theodore Olson
Theodore Olson
Theodore Bevry Olson is a former United States Solicitor General, serving from June 2001 to July 2004 under President George W. Bush.- Early life :...
, filed a challenge to Proposition 8 in Federal Court based on a violation of Federal Equal Protection using the historic ROMER case as its precedent. As of 2010, Kevin authored a follow-up opinion piece to his 2008 marriage articles in which he praised California Supreme Court Associate Justice Carlos Moreno for having the courage for arguing that Norte's Revisionist Theory of Marriage is the correct analysis of the California Constitution, that issues like the constitutional right to "gay marriage" is a "legally certainty" but that it will not be "politically correct" for some time, and encouraged Judge Vaughn Walker to do the right thing and strike down California's Propposition 8 for what it is -- discrimination."
After Judge Vaughn Walker handed down his decision finding California's Proposition 8 "discrimination" echoing Norte's opinion expressed in his article, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in keeping his commitment to his friends, Log Cabin Republicans and the LGBT community in general sought to have the ruling applied immediately and commented. "The administration believes the public interest is best served by permitting the court's judgment to go into effect, thereby restoring the right of same-sex couples to marry in California", lawyers for Schwarzenegger said in the legal filing. "Doing so is consistent with California's long history of treating all people and their relationships with equal dignity and respect."
Context of same sex couples taking one name in California
Kevin and Don Norte are acknowledged as being one of the first openly gay couples in 2005 to test the applicability of AB 205 intended to match the rights of domestic partnerships to married couples.The language provided in California Family Code § 297.5 (a), reads as follows:
Registered domestic partners shall have the same rights, duties, protections, and benefits, and shall be subject to the same responsibilities, obligations, and duties under law, whether derived from statutes, administrative regulations, court rules, government policies, common law, or any other provisions or sources of law, as are granted to and imposed upon spouses.
During the Legislative Session 2006-07, California AB 102 was drafted by San Francisco Assemblymember Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma is the Speaker pro Tempore California State Assembly and a San Francisco politician, and a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.-Personal life:...
after the Norte's legal name status was called into question after the CA DMV adopted a policy to intentionally block other domestic partners after the Nortes from applying the California Family Code in a similar manner. The Nortes' involvement was mentioned in the description of a George Takei interview on Larry King.
AB 102 expanded on the concept of allowing domestic partners to take the name of a spouse, to include married couples so the husband would have the right to assume the last name of the wife. AB 102 was inclusive and consistent with Fam. Code § 297.5 by addressing marriages of different or the same genders. Name changes processed for domestic partners after AB 205 and prior to AB 102 originally permitted individuals to proceed with subsequent name change actions, including social security and passport documents. AB 102 passed the Assembly with three republican votes-Sam Blakeslee
Sam Blakeslee
Samuel Norman Blakeslee is a Republican California State Senator representing California's 15th State Senate district, a former California State Assemblyman from California's 33rd State Assembly district, and a former State Assembly Republican Leader...
, Roger Niello
Roger Niello
Roger Niello was a Republican of the California State Assembly since 2004. He represented California's 5th Assembly District, which includes the Sacramento County cities and towns of Arden-Arcade, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Folsom, North Highlands, McClellan Park, Orangevale, Natomas,...
, and Anthony Adams
Anthony Adams
Anthony "Spice" Adams is an American football defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He previously played for the San Francisco 49ers...
. It passed the Senate on a straight party vote.
The reaction from opponents was swift after the Governor signed the bill. "AB 102 allows homosexual couples to hold themselves out as married by permitting them to choose the same surname upon registration of their 'domestic partnership'", per Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families. The bill granted unmarried couples married last names. "Schwarzenegger and the Democrat politicians have created the public image of homosexual "marriages" in California", said Thomasson, in response to the signing of AB 102. "It's hypocritical for Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto homosexual "'marriage'" licenses and at the very same time aggressively promote the public image of gay and lesbian "'marriages'" in every community for every child to see." Nonetheless, the Nortes' position on their name was finally resolved in the 2006-07 legislative session when AB 102 was signed into law by the Governor because the law is retroactive.