June 26^th

You really have to feel sorry for poor Justice Scalia; he has had a monumentally disappointing couple of days. First, just yesterday, his colleagues approved, again, the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and today the court has nullified prohibitions against same sex marriage. Yesterday’s decision was a resounding six to three, todays was a narrower five to four, but poor Scalia was on the losing end both times. Two days in a row his response to this disappointment has been to produce a hissy fit. Notice please that Justice Thomas and Justice Alito have also been on the wrong side of history with their decisions on these issues but they haven’t seen fit to respond like an eight year old child denied a favorite candy.

Then we have the absolute outrage from some of the Republican Presidential candidates; Governor Huckabee, “expressed calls of judicial tyranny.” Santorum pointed out that the five judges were unelected. Governor Jindal claimed that marriage issues were ordained by God. Donald Trump disgraced himself; he twittered, “Once again Bush appointed Justice John Roberts has let us down.” Trump apparently doesn’t follow this stuff very closely because Justice Roberts was today, unlike yesterday, on the side preferred by Donald Trump; in fact he wrote a dissenting opinion. Governor Rick Perry wants to begin action to amend the Constitution so that same sex marriage is prohibited. Not all Republican candidates made themselves look absurd: Jeb Bush said the he disagreed with the ruling but that it was important to respect religious freedom. Senator Graham said about the same thing. This is code for respecting the law but not requiring anyone to help in any gay marriage or any celebration thereof, assuming of course that such help would violate the helper’s religious freedom. Governor Kasich claims this is now settled law and we should move on. Oh well one out of fourteen isn’t bad; it’s unfortunate that Kasich is so far behind in the polls.

An increasing theme concerning this decision is that the court has intervened in an issue best left to the states. Regardless of any vote taken within a state, however, that state cannot pass any law that conflicts with the constitution. The constitution, and its interpreters on the Supreme Court, trump any statute passed by any state. No state can, by vote, re-institute slavery, nor can a state by vote have a hereditary monarch. The Supreme Court has simply decided that prohibiting same sex marriage violates the equal protection clause of the constitution. The only possible way around this ruling is to change the constitution. I would be very happy to bet against that happening at whatever odds anyone would care to give.