erikred: (Default)
Erik, the BFG ([personal profile] erikred) wrote2008-05-15 11:33 am

This is a Win all-around

California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban

Hopefully the fundies will fail to get their Amendment through in November, but at least until then, go gay marriage.
ext_8707: Taken in front of Carnegie Hall (picassohead)

[identity profile] ronebofh.livejournal.com 2008-05-15 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)
I wonder if the amendment would even pass legal muster after this decision.

[identity profile] robotech-master.livejournal.com 2008-05-15 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
The court said that banning gay marriage was "unconstitutional." One would expect a successfully-passed amendment to change that, by definition.

[identity profile] erikred.livejournal.com 2008-05-15 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
An excellent question, and one that ultimately boils down to States' rights and the rules of precedence. Since this was a State Supreme Court decision based on the State Constitution, an amendment to that constitution does not need to meet the test for legality under the previous set of laws. It does, however, have to be legal under the Federal Constitution, but since the Federal Constitution allocates decisions concerning marriage to the States, there is no Federal jurisdiction here to consider.

If, however, California were to pass a constitutional amendment legalizing slavery, this would be in direct conflict with the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution and would therefore be invalid.