Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Last Call

Col. Mustard applies his "legal expertise" to the Prop 8 ruling.  This should be fun!
The politics of this opinion probably could not come at a worse time for Democrats. There is no groundswell of support for gay marriage, with even Obama having expressed the view during the campaign that marriage is between one man and one woman. The opinion attempts to short-circuit the political process by finding a constitutional right which most people -- even people who might support gay marriage -- do not recognize.

At the end of the day, I do not expect this decision to survive constitutionally, and the supporters of gay marriage may rue the day that they sought to impose a solution from the courts of law rather than the court of public opinion.
If Mustard's right, that due process and equal protection simply does not apply to same-sex marriage because...well I'm still fuzzy on the why it doesn't apply here, he doesn't actually explain it.  Is it because the people of California said so in a referendum?  I don't actually understand here, because that would be tyranny of the majority, and under that logic fundamental rights can indeed be taken from any group by simple majority vote.  Marriage is sacrosanct in American society, but not a fundamental constitutional right?  A mjaority of Americans can decide who someone can or cannot marry?

Because "fundamental right" here is what Judge Walker classifies marriage as.   And an America where fundamental rights can be taken away from any group by simple majority is not an America any of us want to be in.

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