The most interesting thing about today’s decision striking down California’s unconstitutional Proposition 8 isn’t the fact that supporters of marriage equality won — that result was easy to predict from the judges’ comments during oral arguments more than a year ago.
Rather, the most interesting thing about today’s decision is how narrow it is. The court crafted a rationale that applies to Prop 8 and probably only applies to Prop 8. While the opinion is firmly rooted in precedent, it expressly declines to consider the sweeping rationale employed by District Judge Vaughn Walker that is also grounded in precedent and the Constitution.
In 1996, the Supreme Court struck down an anti-gay Colorado constitutional amendment that stripped many gay men and lesbians of their existing legal rights in a case called Romer v. Evans. Today’s opinion relies heavily on Romer, honing in on the fact that Prop 8 stripped gay couples of a right they already enjoyed prior to its enactment — the right to marry a person of their choosing.
Full Story from Think Progress
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