Robicheaux et al. Navigating Judge Feldman’s Rough Waters

Our own Derek Penton-Robicheaux, plaintiff in the Louisiana marriage equality lawsuit that had its request for summary judgement dismissed by a federal judge this week – the first federal court to rule against same-sex marriage since last year’s DOMA decision – shares his thoughts upon hearing the judge’s decision.  

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

  

ORDER AND REASONS

 

Before the Court are cross motions for summary judgment. The Court finds that defendants in this passionately charged national issue have the more persuasive argument. The State of Louisiana has a legitimate interest under a rational basis standard of review for addressing the meaning of marriage through the democratic process. For the reasons that follow, plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment is DENIED and defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.

 

 

Those were the first words I read in the order of our same-sex marriage case on Wednesday morning, at around 10:30 a.m. And with those words, came the feeling of someone kicking me in the gut.  Little did I know, those words alone wouldn’t be the cause of the worst pain that I would feel that day.

We were very busy on the ambulance that morning, part of the sacrifice that EMS personnel make in our duty to be there for others. I was not able to spend an emotional moment with my husband, to wrap my arms around him and say hey, it’s okay, we will keep going. I was in the middle of taking a patient to the hospital when the text came across my phone to check my email. It would be another 10 minutes before I would ever get to that email, but once I did, it set the tone for the entire day. The email contained the order from Judge Martin Feldman upholding Louisiana’s ban on same-sex marriage, the very same ban, which we have fought to strike down since July 16, 2014. Judge Feldman wrote in his order,

“It would no doubt be celebrated to be in the company of the near-unanimity of the many other federal courts that have spoken to this pressing issue, if this Court were confident in the belief that those cases provide a correct guide. Clearly, many other courts will have an opportunity to take up the issue of same-sex marriage; courts of appeals and, at some point, the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision of this Court is but one studied decision among many. Our Fifth Circuit has not yet spoken.”

 Feldman continued on, asking where the line would be drawn,

“Perhaps, in the wake of today’s blurry notion of evolving understanding, the result is ordained.

Perhaps in a new established point of view, marriage will be reduced to contract law, and, by contract, anyone will be able to claim marriage. Perhaps that is the next frontier, the next phase of some “evolving understanding of equality,” where what is marriage will be explored. And as plaintiffs vigorously remind, there have been embattled times when the federal judiciary properly inserted itself to correct a wrong in our society. But that is an incomplete answer to today’s social issue. When a federal court is obliged to confront a constitutional struggle over what is marriage, a singularly pivotal issue, the consequence of outcomes, intended or otherwise, seems an equally compelling part of the equation. It seems unjust to ignore. And so, inconvenient questions persist. For example, must the states permit or recognize a marriage between an aunt and niece? Aunt and nephew? Brother/brother? Father and child? May minors marry? Must marriage be limited to only two people? What about a transgender spouse? Is such a union same-gender or male-female? All such unions would undeniably be equally committed to love and caring for one another, just like the plaintiffs.”

And with those words, he cut every same-sex marriage so deep, with his archaic mindset likening us to incest, pedophilia, and polygamy. In those very words he disregarded every same-sex marriage in this state. It was the worse pain you can inflict on someone. Invalidating someone’s family, my family, saying to us you are less than equal, you are second class citizens. Never the less, I am not shocked nor am I surprised. He wrote on, leading one to believe that he doesn’t hold the view that homosexuals are born the way they are, rather so, they choose this “lifestyle”.

“This national same-sex marriage struggle animates a clash between convictions regarding the value of state decisions reached by way of the democratic process as contrasted with personal, genuine, and sincere lifestyle choices recognition.”

 You can read his full order here.

While we’ve always known this was a possibility, we held high hopes that our judge would follow in the footsteps of his colleagues who clearly, and rightfully so, disagree with him. Just one day after Feldman’s ruling, a three judge panel from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, upheld the lower court’s decision striking two bans down in Indiana and Wisconsin. 

One of those judges, a fellow Reagan appointee in 1981, Richard Posner, stated in his court “It was tradition to not allow blacks and whites to marry – a tradition that got swept away.” And that same-sex marriage bans were based on both “a tradition of hate and savage discrimination.”

While we were discouraged with Feldman’s ruling, we didn’t beat ourselves up over this setback. We joined other folks that afternoon at a rally put on by several organizations, in the iconic Jackson Square of the French Quarter. Along with all the others present, we know there is hope and there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we know that it’s not a train. The light is marriage equality for all.

It feels like yesterday we were setting off in new territory: the Robicheaux plaintiffs. Ours was the first federal same-sex lawsuit to be filed in Louisiana. We had nothing but the Windsor decision, but rightly so, it was the “winds” in our sails, pushing us into uncharted territory, at a time when there were no decisions in front of us lighting the waters. We traveled on a boat with a clear destination but with no map to guide us, only our love and the dream of equality in our hearts. Yes, we’ve hit some rough waters, but we stay the course and we keep going, with that new land in sight.

As I sit here and write this with an enlightened and no longer heavy heart, we prepare to file our notice of appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. First and foremost, I would like to thank my husband for being the rock that he is. Without him, I don’t know where I’d be. I’ve loved you dearly since day one and cannot wait to renew our vows in front of our family and friends here in Louisiana when this marriage equality battle has been won. I’d like to thank our co-plaintiffs Courtney and Nadine Blanchard for jumping in this boat with us without hesitation. I can’t express how much you mean to us and people we consider family. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us since the beginning, your kind words and shoulders to lean on have meant so much to us in those frustrating times. Your encouragement has kept me from pulling out my hair some days. I would like to say thank you, we love you, and we will get this done.

Please go like our Facebook page, share and encourage your friends to the same, we draw a great source of encouragement through that page, and you can find the most current updates there as well.

We also ask that you consider making a donation to help us continue our fight. Donations can be made on our website www.robicheauxvscaldwell.com on the donations page. There are many donation options and every dollar counts. If you know someone else who can make a donation ask them to donate as well.

As for us now, we move forward. We march on. I’ve said it time and time again, this is a long journey, on a long road to equality, and this is but a small bump in that long road. A friend of mine, Rikki Gee, pulled me aside on Wednesday night after the rally, and once we were done with our weekly game of primetime trivia, she gave me a quote of inspiration. The quote oddly enough, came from the 1991 movie “Necessary Roughness,” which I think fits perfectly. Equality is but a long game; we move forward. We may get knocked down, even pushed around, but in the end we will reach our goal. I’d like to leave you with that line, from my heart to all of your hearts, across the country and around the globe –

You’re hurt. You’re tired. You’re bleeding. I’m gonna make you a promise. We get into that end zone, you’re not gonna feel any pain.

 

 

 

Derek Penton-Robicheaux, 36, is a native of Mississippi and a longtime resident of New Orleans.  He holds degrees in computer information systems and paramedicine.  After more than five years together, Derek and his husband, Jonathan Penton-Robicheaux, were legally married in Iowa on Sept. 23, 2012. The two are the first plaintiffs involved in the Federal Same-Sex Marriage Lawsuit in Louisiana, Robicheaux et al. v Caldwell.

 

 

Photos by Steven Mora