Rights aren't decided by a show of hands

The popular response to yesterday's ruling from Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker invalidating Proposition 8 has been that it's a forceful statement for liberty and equality. Though that's true, I think striking down Prop 8 says something more fundamental, and even more important: rights aren't subject to the whim of popular opinion. The question of equality isn't decided by a show of hands.

We don't vote on rights here in America. If we did, the only group who would have any rights at all would be white men who own property. There'd be no reason to grant rights by popular vote to anyone else, so women wouldn't be allowed to vote. Rape probably wouldn't be a criminal offense, since women wouldn't have the right to press charges. Small children would still be working 16-hour days in deplorable conditions, and getting paid pennies for the honor. At least they'd be getting paid. African Americans wouldn't even be that lucky. Separate but equal would be a major step up. Major League Baseball would be lily white, as would every other major sport. You never would have heard of Jackie Robinson, Henry Aaron, Jim Brown, Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. If the U.S. Military had any minorities in it at all, they'd be in segregated units. There wouldn't be a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., because he wouldn't have done anything of notice.

You don't let the majority vote on granting rights to the minority because they never will. Striking down Proposition 8 proves that with an independent judiciary, when push comes to shove, liberty and equality will always trump fear, ignorance and hate. The owner's manual for the United States is the Constitution, not the Bible. If you want a theocracy, I suggest you move to Iran.

Speaking of theocracy, the response to Judge Walker's ruling featured the predictable complaints from the fringe right. Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, whined "with a stroke of his pen, Judge Walker has overruled the votes and values of 7 million Californians who voted for marriage as one man and one woman." That's correct, Brian.  In his opinion, Judge Walker wrote:

"Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples."

An enlightened society doesn't do that. In sum, Proposition 8 was decidedly un-American. Nevertheless, for those who still want to defend the status quo against these marauding gays and lesbians, I'll close with the best quote of the day, which came from the Twitterverse, courtesy of Glenn Greenwald:

"In this time of upheaval, a nation turns to Newt Gingrich- standing next to his 3rd wife/ex-mistress- to hear about the sanctity of marriage".

Photo credit: Judge Walker, sfgate.com