It is interesting that when Clay Aiken ventures forth an opinion, or when his foot touches the back of someone’s airline seat, he makes the news. Yesterday Clay answered a question by a fan on his official fan club message board. Though normally we honor the rules of the board by not posting anything verbatim from there, an unscrupulous individual took it upon theirself to copy and post (again) what was suppose to be kept to a private board. Now that it is all over the internet, it seems useless to refrain from posting it here. So, here is Clay’s very cogent answer to the question, “What are your thoughts on the Prop 8 ruling today?”
“Loaded question. Hope I don’t get myself in trouble here again…
I will say that I am QUITE disappointed that Prop 8 passed in the first place. I could argue all day the myriad of reasons that I believe the US Constitution provides for equal rights for all people. And, as much as it is their right to have a differing opinion, I think that some of the arguments coming from the anti-gay side are stupid, hypocritical, and even contradict themselves.
That said, I can’t say that I am too upset by the CA Supreme Court’s ruling. While it is disappointing that same sex couples in CA will have to wait longer to have equal rights, at the same time I worry that a different ruling from the court would have caused far more trouble than good.
The bottom line is… no matter how much I hate it…. Prop 8 passed with the majority of the public vote. I don’t agree with them. I don’t think it is right, but it happened. I don’t think I would be comfortable allowing the courts the power to override the will of the people. Yes, I know the argument can be made that had the courts not struck down segregation in the south we may still have Jim Crow laws in place. However, (A) segregation was instituted by the states based on public opinion and not necessarily by an official vote and (B) the US Supreme Court struck down the practice of segregation. It didn’t overturn a specific vote.
I strongly believe that the next time that Californians go to the ballot box to vote on legalizing same sex marriage, the tides will turn. I truly believe that the majority of CA voters will support the equal rights of all people next time they are given the chance. While the CA Supreme Court may now be composed of justices who believe that same-sex marriage should be legal (remember they are the ones who made it legal in the first place), what happens when the public votes for same-sex marriage to be legalized, yet the CA Supreme Court is made up of justices who feel it should be illegal? Will they then have the power to overturn the vote? Its not a precedent I want set.
As much as I disagree with Prop 8, I don’t want to give the courts the power to ignore the will of the people. Because I expect that one day, even in North Carolina, the majority of voters will allow me the right to get married, and when that happens, I don’t want nine justices being able to change the outcome.
We can’t only agree with the system when it agrees with us.
That said…. Way to go Ohio,* Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, and (fingers crossed) New Hampshire… and, bring on the next ballot California!
What is your opinion of his answer?
*Correction: It has been pointed out to me that Clay never said “Ohio” in his statement. I went back and looked at the original statement and it is not there. I have no idea how that got in there. I apologize for the error.
I love a sexy, good-looking man. Throw intelligence into the mix, and I’m a goner.
I think Clay Aiken is the real deal, a bona-fide star, and an authentically intelligent, smart-thinking man.
Could not ask for more from the man I’ve been following for the past six years.
Yep – when Clay Aiken speaks, people listen! I LOVE it!!! 🙂
I completely agree with Clay Aiken on this matter. While I want equal rights for ALL PEOPLE, regardless of sex, religion, race, age or orientation, it is better accomplished through the legislative process and not through the judicial process.
Thanks Clay for an excellent commentary.
I also completely agree with Clay Aiken.
Thank-you CANN!!!
I agree with Clay. The man is articulate, well informed and rational.
His response is a good example of why UNICEF sent him as their representative to speak to the U.S. Congress when they needed additional funding.
An intelligent, well thought of answer to a loaded question indeed. Clay Aiken makes a great deal of sense. I love his mind as well as his voice.
Wow…….what an articulate man. I had no idea all the court vs. popular vote mess involved. I do believe Clay is right. THe will of the people is what our founding fathers had planned when they started our government. The courts need to interpret the law, not make them. Patience…………I hope he is right that CA will pass same sex marriage the next time it comes up for a vote. I hope more states follow along. I find is horribly sad that citizens of our country cannot enjoy one of the privileges which I have. It doesn’t make any sense. Thank you Clay Aiken for speaking and teaching us. When Clay Aiken speaks, everybody seems to listen.
What a smart man..and he can sing too!
I agree with Clay Aiken on this. The will of the people is too often ignored and the resentment that follows is never good. Let the people come to the realization that equal rights should mean exactly that, equal rights for ALL.
Yes, I do agree with Clay. He is so smart and articulate and fair. And, yes, when he speaks, people listen. I have also heard that he lights up a room!!
Clay Aiken gave an intelligent, well conceived opinion on Prop 8 and shows me what an excellent spokesman he can be. He is correct that the people need to be included in this.
Clay Aiken is an intelligent, articulate man who has always been one to speak up about issues affecting the country and the world. Yea Clay and hope we will soon see equal rights for all.
There’s so much more to Clay Aiken that being a singer, an actor, on TV, on Broadway, UNICEF ambassador–he’s very articulate. His comments about Prop 8 are on the mark.
There’s nothing better than a smart sexy man!
Wow! A very intelligent, articulate answer. Interesting about the will of the people vs the courts. Hummmmmmm! I very much agree with Clay Aiken on this.
I absolutely love how he stays calm and patient about the question, which is, of course, one very important to him. Hysterical expressions of opinions never work and I’m glad that Clay knows that patience is the key. He’s an excellent spoekesman, who actually speaks about the topic and the whole vision. Respect.
What an articulate, well-thought-out response to the Prop 8 question. I admire and respect Clay Aiken more every day!
I truly loved his opinion on this and pretty much always agree with him on most everything. Except for that one. Oh well. Certainly doesn’t change anything for me. The odds are always much more in my favor that he’ll say something that’ll make me say “YaY, I just love this guy!”
I think it shows how incredibly intelligent he is. Add that to everything else about him and he a classy well rounded individual with the voice of an angel. He gave a great answer!
I also agree with Clay ! What is so rotten is that post’s that he has written in answer to a question to a fan on his Official fanclub is spread all over the dang internet. Clay even said that he hoped it didnt come back on him ; so now apparently it has once again. This is just my own opinion but that to me isn’t a very loyal fan club member. Clay has been gracious enough to come on the OFC and asked and answer some of our questions. I feel it’s disrespectful to Clay. I will probably get tomatoes thrown at me for my statement but as Clay has only given his own personal opinion this is also my own personal opinion.
I don’t think you’ll get any tomatoes thrown at you here! I think we all agree with you. I said pretty much the same myself when I made the post. Frankly, the person who took it off the member site is not a fan. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to know exactly what their name is on the board.
You probably know by now, but here it is anyway, the snitch who brought out Prop 8 is a ‘**** ******’ and here is his explanation.
[edit]
Yes, we were aware of that. Sorry for editing your comment, but he is a stalker and persona non grata here. I would rather not leave a link or mention his name.
Clay amazes me. His post was well thought out and spot on.
He is so intelligent and he can sing like no one else.
I love when Clay Aiken talks…people listen. I love hearing his thought process on different issues. I love a man with a brain.
Clay Aiken is always so articulate and speaks with such knowledge on so many subjects. What a smarty!
Based on the intelligence of his response, I’m pretty sure Clay meant “Iowa” and not Ohio. Ohio still doesn’t recognize gay people in any respect.
That’s good to know David. Thank you!
yes I would agree. People call Iowa mistakedly Idaho and Ohio all the time. We kid that we need to trade our corn with potatoes from Idaho!
It has been pointed out to me that Clay never said “Ohio” in his statement. I went back and looked at the original statement and it is not there. I have no idea how that got in there. I apologize for the error.
Deona,
Excellent blog! A consummate entertainer with incredible pipes, Clay Aiken is an intelligent, articulate, handsome, and compassionate man. I appreciate — and agree with — his explanation of Prof 8.
Thank you to the CANN staff for your kind remarks in the Carolina blog. Have an awesome week!
Caro
I think his comments were brilliant. I agree with him and so admire his intelligence. Being an Iowan, I immediately pointed out he missed Iowa. I was not expecting a response in less than 4 minutes, during which time he answered 2 other questions.
I would not normally post a comment from the OFC, but it adds to his comments, understanding of Prop 8, and he was answering my question:
Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraQ
Don’t forget Iowa too! Were you surprised by that one? We are more liberal than people realize. Very proud it is legal here.
Clay:
“The legislature didn’t make it legal there nor did the voters, the courts did. As long as a ballot initiative doesn’t overturn it there like they did in CA then congrats to Iowa too. I worry that we haven’t heard the last from there though. I hope I am wrong.”
His answer is correct, it was a court action. Our supreme court ruled it unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses based on sexual orientation.
Thank you LauraQ for sharing your question and answer from Clay with us!
Sure! I wish they had reported his answer to me when they pulled his first long response. It just shows more of his overall understanding of the issue.
I also agree with him and hope Iowa doesn’t overturn it with a vote at some point. I think since it has been legalized it has changed some people’s thoughts on the subject. When they saw the real couples living in their state getting married, it put a real face on it and they saw the people whose rights had been taken away in the past.
Clay got it right again. Clay is a true leader and does not react with emotion, but with great intelligence. I respect and admire what he says. You go Clay Aiken.
I am a forever fan.
This was a well thought out and articulate response and Clay has done a great job in answering.
I had no doubt as to his reaction to the proposition but I admired the way he offered the other view of giving power to the court.
He mentioned a lot of things I was not aware of (a few of which some of you lovely people have corrected :)) and it was just a pleasure to read his answer and be presented with plenty of perspective. We love you Clay!
Clay got it right! I agree with him completely. Not, only is he a sexysingerman…but now he is a smartsexysingerman. Of course, we always knew that. We love you Clay!!
How unique and different that we have a celebrity who is intelligent and articulate and its not all about “look at me me me”. He is informed and he cares. An admirable man.
First of all, I’m a Clay Aiken fan from California & applaud him for having the courage to make his statement in the face of possible opposition. Here’s hoping a flame war doesn’t start. I’m a grandmother whose daughter is 14 months to the day older than Clay. Besides being one of the world’s best singers & entertainers, one of the reasons I’m such a fan of Clay’s is his love for children, especially those with special needs. My 6-1/2 year old grandson has autism spectrum disorder & he’s come a very long way in the past 3 years, thanks in great part to wonderful teachers like Clay. I really love watching videos of him with children, & I hope my grandson & I will have the opportunity to meet him soon!
For those of you who don’t know, California’s Prop. 8 is a verbatim restatement of California’s Prop. 22, both of which state: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” Prop. 22 was a ballot initiative passed by 61.4% of the voters on March 7, 2000. Despite the will of the people, the California Supreme Court struck it down on May 15, 2008. Very shortly thereafter, petitions were circulated & more than enough signatures were gathered to get Prop. 8 on the November 4, 2008 ballot as a constitutional amendment & it passed by 52.24% of the vote. Amending California’s constitution requires a simple majority, & that’s why Prop. 8 passed. The same California Supreme Court justices who struck Prop. 22 down last May, said they couldn’t strike down Prop. 8 last week because they didn’t want to go against the will of the people. Go figure.
I agree wholeheartedly with Clay that judges should not be legislating from the bench, particularly when doing so goes against the will of the people. As I said in the paragraph above, the CA Supreme Court justices did exactly that when they struck down Prop. 22. Unfortunately, this sort of thing is happening more often lately, to the detriment of everyone. We’re already losing many of our freedoms that we once took for granted, & perhaps what’s needed is to impeach judges who abuse their authority.
Here’s something to think about: What will happen when a legally married same-sex couple decide to call it quits? I read of a case not too long ago where two women who were legally married wanted to separate. They were quite shocked when told they would have to file for divorce. Also, what happens to the biological children? We know that it takes a man & a woman to make a baby, & in the case of same-sex couples, there is of necessity a person of the opposite sex involved. It’s difficult enough as it is to decide on issues such as custody, child support & visitation when a heterosexual couple is involved. When you have a same-sex couple & a member of the opposite sex involved, then these issues are a whole lot more complicated. Why would anyone want to put themselves & their children through something like this? I really feel that this is an issue that needs to be thought through much more thoroughly before further legislation is contemplated. As it is now, in the states where same-sex marriages are legal, it would appear that divorce lawyers are going to get even richer when such unions fall apart. Just something to think about.
You have some great points. I used to work in financial planning. I did personally do any work for same-sex couples, but this definitely reiterates the need for planning. Couples in this situation need to be very careful to draw up documents to give up or give rights in the case of a donor, proper wills and such. Thankfully we know in Clay’s case, he is very smart and has access to great lawyers and I bet everything is thought of for Parker. I did know a planner that specialized in same-sex couples and services of such professionals will greatly be needed as more states change laws.
I understand what you’re saying, but those issues are also there for heterosexual couples. It would be good to allow same sex couples the opportunity to struggle through a divorce – why should heterosexual couples have all he fun?? 😉
Heterosexual couples also use surrogates, so that is just good advice for ANYONE. A couple like Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, who are using a surrogate for their twins, have the finances to get the best lawyers and do their best to ensure that nothing takes a turn for the worse. People, in general, need to be thinking about everything that CAN go wrong and protect themselves.
typo there, I meant I personally did not do work for any same-sex couples, but knew a planner that did.
I agree…equality for all. If something is agreed on by the citizens of the country or state then one group or individual should be able to change the decission. That is what this country is “suppose” to be about. Sometimes I question majority rules..it seems today that the minorities have the say!!
And as far as judgements…there is only one who can judge….”Judge not,that ye be not judged”…Matt:7:1