California Court Rules Same Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

This one's sure to go extra innings.

Next up, an appeal to a state appeals court or--bypassing the appeals court--straight to the California Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the legislature ponders whether to put a same-sex marriage ban on the November ballot.

Watch for lots more bitching about this "activist judge", hearing a grievance from real live people and determining how that grievance squares with the state constitution. How dare he! It isn't like that's his job description or anything.

Anyway, this one'll be interesting. Schwarzenegger seems to have largely avoided getting bogged down in social issues. I'm curious how he'll weigh in here. A gay coworker in California said that Schwarzenegger said he'd like to be the governor who signs a gay marriage bill, while I've seen a completely different take on Ahnold on blogs. Batter up!

Next day update: WaPo's story notes that in 1948, the California Supreme Court overturned the state's ban on interracial marriage, leading it to become the first state to allow such unions. Was that judicial activism, or was that an instance of the courts protecting the rights of the citizenry from an overreaching legislature?

Or perhaps there are times when anti-judicial folks would say, "It was judicial activism, but it was positive judicial activism," which muddies the debate significantly. Mostly because it only becomes 'good judicial activism' in hindsight.

All the same, thank God for the 1948 ruling in favor of a person's right to choose his or her spouse regardless of race. May its echoes resonate today.