"Prop 8 is simply democracy at work." That comment was posted on a forum, and as is obvious to most, it is far too simplistic.
We live in a constitutional democracy, with a constitution that guarantees certain fundamental civil rights/freedoms. In California, there is a constitutional right to marry. On the Federal level, the US constitution assures us the right to equal protection under the law. Additionally, every single state in the union has a constitution which also guarantees this right to equal protection under the law.
Thus, marriage equality is a civil right, and may only be abridged by changes to the Federal constitution. States may not revoke a freedom as it is provided under the tenets of the US Constitution. Only the Supreme Court may do that, and only if they change the US Constitution.
This being the case, Prop 8 is not a matter of legitimate policy. It is a law which revokes the federally guaranteed civil rights of a classification of people, and is thus unconstitutional, and would not hold up to a review by the Supreme Court.
Now, the Supreme Court can revise that part of the constitution [14th Amendment] in order to make Prop 8 and similar laws legitimate. We could then discriminate against other classes of people as well. For instance, we could ban any specific group from marrying --- religious freaks, for example. Unfair? Sure. But so is preventing same-sex marriage, and as they say, "you reap what you sow".
Consider long and hard the next time you vote in favor of a law which seeks to abridge and deny a fundamental civil right.
Your own liberty is also at stake.
Props to cabieri (a Republican who voted for Obama) who inspired me to clarify my thoughts on this matter.
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