Day 24 - Will Our Marriage End?

A little background for those who live outside California.

Last year, the California Supreme Court ruled "that the California legislative and initiative measures limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples violate the state constitutional rights of same-sex couples and may not be used to preclude same-sex couples from marrying."

Last Spring, The Wife and I got married.

This morning, the biggest thing on my mind is not my diet. I'm still reeling from watching the California Surpreme court hear oral arguments regarding Proposition 8. For those unfamiliar, Proposition 8 was a ballot initiative that changed the California State Constitution to read "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

After watching the oral arguments, I left wondering if the State Supreme Court will void our marriage. It seemed to me that the judges were very hostile towards the idea of overturning Proposition 8, but were undecided on the fate of the 18,000 same-sex marriages that had been performed before the election.

The Wife and I have been together for a decade, but we've only been married for just over eight months. The court will issue their ruling within 90 days, and I feel like we are sitting on death row, waiting for our execution.

The most disturbing thing about the oral arguments was Ken Starr's opinion that the voters should be allowed to make whatever changes they wish to the constitution. Although he agreed that voters were not always wise, it is their sovereign right to make those changes.

It's a brave new world out there, folks.

Last November, the state voted to eliminate the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. Perhaps in two years, the state will vote to eliminate the right of gays and lesbians to adopt. What's next after that? Will they vote away protections for equal housing and employment?

Even more chilling, if they can vote away the rights of on unpopular minority, who will be next? Blacks? Hispanics? Asians? Perhaps they'll just go after Arabs in retaliation for 9/11.

If the court upholds Proposition 8, what they are really saying is that California's Equal Protection clause doesn't necessarily have to afford equal protection to everyone. It just affords equal protection to those in the majority, or those the majority deems fit to receive protection.

If that's the case, why do we even have a constitution in the first place?