So exciting!
A California judge has opened the way for the nation's most populous state to follow Massachusetts in allowing same-sex couples to tie the knot, but both sides in the same-sex marriage debate predict a vigorous court fight first. San Francisco County superior court judge Richard Kramer ruled Monday that while withholding marriage licenses from gay and lesbian couples has been the status quo, it constitutes discrimination the state can no longer justify. "The state's protracted denial of equal protection cannot be justified simply because such constitutional violation has become traditional," Kramer wrote. "Simply put, same-sex marriage cannot be prohibited solely because California has always done so before."
But of course there will be a backlash. (Hey, I'm sure that the KKK saw a jump in its roster count when schools got desegregated and the voter rights act got passed.)
I can't find a biography of Judge Kramer, but apparently he's Catholic, a registered Republican, and an appointee of either Deukmajian or Wilson. So not exactly your typical wild-eyed liberal.
It all comes down to what he said. To repeat:
"The state's protracted denial of equal protection cannot be justified simply because such constitutional violation has become traditional. Simply put, same-sex marriage cannot be prohibited solely because California has always done so before."
