There are 87,388 essays and articles currently on the Internet about this morning's Supreme Court decision about Gay Marriage. Don't believe me? Count 'em like I didn't.
In my piece on the subject, I made a dumb typo, inserting the name of the wrong Justice. I have fixed it and I would like to thank the 87,388 people who wrote in to tell me.
I've been reading a lot of articles and essays on the subject…and it is worth reading if not the entire decision then at least excerpts. You'll find Scalia saying…
With each decision of ours that takes from the People a question properly left to them — with each decision that is unabashedly based not on law, but on the "reasoned judgment" of a bare majority of this Court — we move one step closer to being reminded of our impotence.
This is an odd position from the guy who was so proud of the court stepping in and making sure George W. Bush became president in 2000 and who told people who thought it was a wrong decision to "Get over it." Then you have Alito writing…
By imposing its own views on the entire country, the majority facilitates the marginalization of the many Americans who have traditional ideas. Recalling the harsh treatment of gays and lesbians in the past, some may think that turnabout is fair play. But if that sentiment prevails, the Nation will experience bitter and lasting wounds.
In other words, the Nation would not experience bitter and lasting wounds if we continued the harsh treatment of gays and lesbians. We have to protect the sensitive feelings of those who don't like the way society is changing. And then Roberts wrote something which has to have pissed off a lot of folks…
People of faith can take no comfort in the treatment they receive from the majority today.
Yes, because we all know "people of faith" are against gay rights. There are no "people of faith" in favor of same-gender marriage — no members of the clergy, no people who believe in God, etc. Depending on which poll you believe, somewhere between 57% and 65% of Americans support Gay Marriage. Apparently none of them are "people of faith." Finally, from Thomas…
Slaves did not lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity) because the government allowed them to be enslaved. Those held in internment camps did not lose their dignity because the government confined them. And those denied governmental benefits certainly do not lose their dignity because the government denies them those benefits. The government cannot bestow dignity, and it cannot take it away.
I don't even know where to start…