pessimisticSame-sex marriage may someday be legalized in California, [the state's Deputy Attorney General] said, "but such a change should appropriately come from the people rather than the judiciary as long as constitutional rights are protected"
Oh really? And how long do you think it would have been before interracial marriage were legal if we waited for approval to come from "the people"? Or desegregation, or abortion, or any other issue of minority rights? It's an excuse for not doing the right thing. And not even a particularly good one. "The people aren't ready." The people will never be ready, not for any significant social change. Not unless they're dragged forward. And once they get there, they'll see it's not so bad -- Massachusetts seems not to have descended into chaos, after all. But a complacent majority will not take that step on their own. Isn't this what an independent judiciary is supposed to be for???
Unfortunately, the State Supreme Court is packed with Republican nominees, and (as Jerry Brown reminds us in such a classy fashion) subject to popular election, so I have a strong suspicion that this time, we will not have an independent judiciary doing the right thing. But there's always the chance that they'll prove me wrong. The ruling will come 90 days after the hearing, so after tomorrow all there is left to do, is wait.
