Thursday, March 05, 2009

where do civil rights come from?

As I write this, the California Supreme court is grappling with the issue of Proposition 8 and Gay Marriage in California. From where I sit in St. Petersburg Florida, drinking my mango oatmeal smoothie the question is not one of gay marriage. Gay marriage is a microcosm of the larger question at issue. Does the american public have the right to vote away a right from a minority?

If Americans were suddenly convinced tomorrow that people who didn't have children shouldn't own land, would the american public be allowed to vote away that right from the rest of us?

The way this issue is playing out represents the very best of the American legal system and our representative republic and the stakes are nothing less than the freedom of our country and our way of life. California is the state with the largest population and as so Cali goes, so goes the nation. Whichever way the vote goes, it'll prolly end up in the Supreme Court.

This fight, win or loose, makes me love America that much more.