May 15, 2008

the obligatory response to the california gay marriage decision

My take on it is that I personally don't really care one way or the other on gay marriage itself, I'm fine with it, mostly because I'm indifferent to it one way or the other.  I don't really think government is well served being in the marriage game anyway.  I'm not onboard with the cultural panic brigades

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x73/doubleplusundeadmeenu/ohnoesiy6.gif

who are freaking out and declaring that next people will be fucking wombats and Michael Moore with the government nod of approval because of this ruling, and that a vengeful Ol' Testament God will smite our asses for letting the Sodomites run wild and free.  Every time this issue comes up it tends to bring out a lot of nastiness toward gay people, which I find to be repellent.

My concern lies with the precedent set by the court in just deciding to declare it legal.  No pun intended here, but my worry is that door can swing both ways when it comes to judges making legislative decisions that are effectively creation of law.  Just because I'm fine with gay marriage doesn't make me a supporter of this decision. 

More than anything, I'm worried about the precedent these sorts of rulings set for other judges who may decide to restrict our liberties.  Judges should not be in the business of declaring things law, but declaring if laws written by the legislative bodies are constitutional or legal.  They should only be in the business of declaring laws constitutionally valid or invalid, and that is it.

If California or any other states pass a bill through the legislature or referendum endorsing gay marriage, I'll be supportive of them, but I can't bring myself to be supportive of this ruling.  To me, the cultural slapfight is nothing but an annoying, obnoxious distraction from the biggest issue, and that is what we can do to keep our government (in this case, the Judiciary) controlled and in check.

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 02:26 PM | Comments (27) | Add Comment
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