In San Francisco, Wednesday morning after the California's voters had voted with 52% in favor of "Proposition 8" (deciding that marriage was to be defined between a man and woman only) one man's word changed the outcome completely. Around 7 million California residents had voted for this ban of gay marriage, however Federal Judge Vaughn Walker changed the outcome with one motion of his own.
He overturned the decision on the grounds that the Proposition, is based only on moral and opinion, not on what is lawfully right. Walker states in his lengthy 136-page opinion explaining the ruling that: "Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license... Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples."
Many Gay and Lesbian supporters are thrilled, others who voted for Proposition 8 are angry, but the biggest issue is that a boundary has been crossed. The people voted for what they wanted; and Judge Walker has basically thrown it back at them saying that he knows better. Whether or not he is right or not, he may have won quite a bit of popularity from those supporting gay marriage, but he will face the bitter majority who he over-ruled.
While many gay and lesbian marriage supporters are parading, celebrating and crying "Victory!" right now, there is still more to this ruling, it is already being fought and being sent to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and then potentially the Supreme Court. The case is sure to be one for the history books, whether or not they win favor, there are 45 other states banning gay marriage, and this kind of a landmark may be the spark that sets off change in the rights of gays regarding marriage.
Whatever the decision, people like Walker need to be careful not to overstep their bounds, trying to protect from the dangers of the majority is very subjective. In his mind he may feel that he has done the right thing, and many gay and lesbians supporters show him thanks. But the fact is the people spoke, and he replied with an "I know better" reaction.
Wow, I had no idea that Judge Walker overruled the majority. Although I completely support gay marriage, I believe that when the American people speak, they've spoken. He definitely should not have overruled them. This "I know better" attitude is exactly what we need to avoid as our country continues to grow and become more dependent on federal government. If politicians start overruling what we vote for, our country will lapse into tyranny. I total agree with with the Judge says, that banning gay/lesbian marriage is unconstitutional, which might be why he feels like it's okay to overturn the decision of Californians, but he definitely should have gone about it in a more lawful way. With such a close vote and liberal population, it might have been easier and less bloody to call for a revote. Overstepping the constitution and the foundations of American democracy is no way to go about solving another unconstitutional problem. It shows blatant disregard for the system, the constitution and the people of California. His cause is just, but because of the unlawful actions he took, he may have set the gay/lesbian community back even farther.
ReplyDeletePossible ramifications may not be good in either camp. Politicians may start to believe that they have more power than they do and start overruling the citizens more frequently. People also might be so enraged by Walker overstepping his bounds that they will vote against the banning of proposition 8, or similar propositions just to "show him" or put him in his place. In any case, as soon as our politicians start thinking it's okay to go against the vote of American citizens our country will go into chaos and we will officially have lost our coveted democracy. No matter how just the cause might be, opposition need to be done the right way so that you can feel good about the victory afterwards and know that the support of the people is behind you. Stealing the crown is no way to become king.
Most people know what they want and if the government goes through the motions of calling a vote, they need to stick with the results.