1. SEATTLE TIMES Gay man lets homophobes have it Seattle Times, March 4 P. O. Box 70,Seattle,WA,98111 Fax 206-382-6760 E-MAIL: opinion@seatimes.com (300 word limit) Gay juror nullification: No gain without pain by Steven L. Kendall, Special to The Times DURING the recent debate and ultimate passage of a statutory ban on same-sex marriage, Rep. Mike Sherstad, R-Bothell, was quoted in the local media as saying, "The people in Eastern Washington don't understand why we don't take homosexuals and put them on a bus and ship them out of the country." Rep. Bill Thompson, R-Everett, was quoted as saying, "I have to keep doing what I can do to protect what I and my constituents think is the most desirable lifestyle." Every federal court of appeals that has reviewed the "don't-ask-don't-tell" policy regarding gay and lesbian people in the military has declared it to be constitutional. Washington voters, last fall, overwhelmingly defeated a gay civil rights initiative, and recently voters in Maine did too, by a very narrow margin. Further, the United States Supreme Court has ruled Georgia's felony sodomy statute was constitutional, and didn't violate the constitutional right to privacy. The maximum sentence is 20 years in prison. As a third-generation Washingtonian and a member of the gay and lesbian community, I'm not going anywhere, Rep. Sherstad. There's a road, in Sequim, named after my family ("Kendall Road") leading out to the Dungeness. My uncle, Donald M. Kendall, now retired CEO and chairman of the board of PepsiCo, Inc., is a Sequim native. State Sen. Sid Snyder, D-Long Beach, is a third cousin of mine. (Shame on you, Sid, for voting to override Gov. Locke's veto of the anti-same-sex-marriage bill). I'm curious how Rep. Thompson believes allowing convicted California serial killer Richard Ramirez to marry, while on death row, furthers and enhances heterosexual marriage? How does allowing one of the Menendez brothers to marry, while serving a life sentence for shot-gunning to death both of his parents, "protect a desirable lifestyle"? The Supreme Court has ruled, unanimously, a convicted felon has a constitutional right to marry, even while incarcerated. That means Mary K. Letourneau's child rape victim will be able to marry her upon his 18th birthday, while she's still in prison. If the state tries to block it, he and she can sue in federal district court for a writ of mandamus ordering the state to allow the marriage to proceed. However, law-abiding, tax-paying gay and lesbian couples don't have the same rights as felony dirtbags. So, just who has "special rights"? Reps. Sherstad, Thompson, Washington and Maine voters, and the state don't understand how vulnerable their precious system is. I've been a registered voter for over 26 consecutive years, but I've never been called to jury duty. When that day does come, I'll obey the summons and appear. However, when questioned by the court, state or federal, I'll inform the judge I'll invoke juror nullification and acquit the defendant, regardless of the quality and quantity of evidence against him or her. The same goes if I'm summoned to grand jury duty. I'll refuse to indict, even if the suspect is shown on videotape to have committed a crime. Yes, this means I'll invoke juror nullification even if the victim is gay or lesbian and that's why crimes were committed against them. No pain, no gain. No equal rights and responsibilities, under the law, no cooperation. Obviously, no judge in their right mind is going to put somebody on a jury who announces their intention to engage in jury nullification. Further, in two separate cases, the Supreme Court held that judges can't jail or fine juries for engaging in jury nullification, but refusal to serve on a jury is a misdemeanor in Washington, and a small fine under federal law. It's time to let the Legislature, courts and voters know we won't continue to be dutiful lap dogs, while being denied equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities in housing, employment, credit, insurance, real-estate transactions, public accommodations, military service, marriage, adoption and private, consensual sexual activity between adults. I'm not your boy, and I'm not going to complacently schlepp for you and your precious system. If letting violent predatory criminals loose is what it takes to get our civil rights, so be it. Sic semper tyrannus (Thus be it always to tyrants!). (Longtime Democratic activist Steven L. Kendall is a graduate of the University of Washington in political science. He is employed by King County and resides in West Seattle.)