Michigan gay marriage ban struck down

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

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USA Today

[Joe Republic]

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I'm not especially surprised, given how joke-like the state's case seemed at times.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I'm not especially surprised, given how joke-like the state's case seemed at times.

Yeah, I'll be the first to admit that the AG did not do a good job at all.

[Potatoe]

This.

Normally I don't really understand the "Dominos" comparison, but considering how much progress has been made, the hate is falling, and soon, may be gone, though that may be wishful thinking, a world without hate, is a great world indeed.

[Joe Republic]

Now I think of it, it would have been more fitting if Kansas had had their ban overturned in the week Fred Phelps died.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

The will of the people prevails again.

[Bojack Horseman]

I'm trying not to get choked up. I've never been prouder to be a Michigander.

[© tweed]

I'm trying not to get choked up. I've never been prouder of my state.

your state didn't do anything, one Federal judge made a decision.  if you're prouder of this than you are of the 1936 Flint strike then you're a sociopath.

[old timey villain]

I'm trying not to get choked up. I've never been prouder of my state.

your state didn't do anything, one Federal judge made a decision.  if you're prouder of this than you are of the 1936 Flint strike then you're a sociopath.

wow, you must be fun at parties

[Kushahontas]

I'm trying not to get choked up. I've never been prouder of my state.

your state didn't do anything, one Federal judge made a decision.  if you're prouder of this than you are of the 1936 Flint strike then you're a sociopath.

hahaha

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I'm trying not to get choked up. I've never been prouder of my state.

your state didn't do anything, one Federal judge made a decision.  if you're prouder of this than you are of the 1936 Flint strike then you're a sociopath.

wow, you must be fun at parties

The sit-ins were far more important and meaningful than a unilateral court ruling on gay marriage (which isn't to say the latter isn't a good thing).

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I'm trying not to get choked up. I've never been prouder of my state.

your state didn't do anything, one Federal judge made a decision.  if you're prouder of this than you are of the 1936 Flint strike then you're a sociopath.

I thought you were going down with your buddies.

[SteveRogers]

Tsk. Tsk. Another liberal, activist Reagan appointee.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Tsk. Tsk. Another liberal, activist Reagan appointee.

It's weird how all the Bush and Reagan appointees are proving to be the biggest obstacles for socons.  Do they only put consideration into their judges if it's for the Supreme Court?

[TJ in Oregon]

Tsk. Tsk. Another liberal, activist Reagan appointee.

It's weird how all the Bush and Reagan appointees are proving to be the biggest obstacles for socons.  Do they only put consideration into their judges if it's for the Supreme Court?

Before Bush 43, they didn't seem to put any consideration into that either.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Tsk. Tsk. Another liberal, activist Reagan appointee.

It's weird how all the Bush and Reagan appointees are proving to be the biggest obstacles for socons.  Do they only put consideration into their judges if it's for the Supreme Court?

Actually, it's because give the ruling in Windsor, any judge who has any respect for the pronouncements of the Supreme Court is going to have to rule to strike under the standard Windsor established for how to consider whether a government can treat same-sex marriage differently from opposite-sex marriage.  While they are ruling faster than I thought they would, the rulings themselves are utterly unsurprising.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

The will of the people activists in black robes prevails again. The people via their reps banned it.

[ElectionsGuy]

The will of the people activists in black robes prevails again. The people via their reps banned it.

JCL, if you just glance at the polls (and Michigan in the same-sex marriage polls thread) you'll see that the people want gay marriage to be accepted. This isn't 2004 anymore, and the streak of voting to ban gay marriage is ending.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The will of the people activists in black robes prevails again. The people via their reps banned it.

If voters can ban SSM, they can also ban Heterosexual marriage.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

The will of the people activists in black robes prevails again. The people via their reps banned it.

And the people, via their courts, repealed it.

The will of the people in 2014 matters more than the will of the people in 2004. And upholding the U.S. constitution trumps both.

[IceSpear]

The will of the people activists in black robes prevails again. The people via their reps banned it.

The entire point of our government is to protect against the tyranny of the majority. Why do you hate our Founding Fathers?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The will of the people activists in black robes prevails again. The people via their reps banned it.

And the people, via their courts, repealed it.

The will of the people in 2014 matters more than the will of the people in 2004. And upholding the U.S. constitution trumps both.

Not quite.  Judges are not there to express the will of the people, legislatures are.  Some of our worst decisions have come about because of judges trying to impose their view of the current will of the people as inviolable precedent.  It's all good and well to apply Kennedy's reasoning in Windsor to these bans.  But they should be doing it regardless of the will of the people being in favor of or in opposition to that being done.  So while your latter two sentences are spot on, I find fault with your first.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Judges are not there to express the will of the people, legislatures are.

Then why have legislatures done such a terrible job of it?

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

The will of the people activists in black robes prevails again. The people via their reps banned it.

And the people, via their courts, repealed it.

The will of the people in 2014 matters more than the will of the people in 2004. And upholding the U.S. constitution trumps both.

Not quite.  Judges are not there to express the will of the people, legislatures are.  Some of our worst decisions have come about because of judges trying to impose their view of the current will of the people as inviolable precedent.  It's all good and well to apply Kennedy's reasoning in Windsor to these bans.  But they should be doing it regardless of the will of the people being in favor of or in opposition to that being done.  So while your latter two sentences are spot on, I find fault with your first.

I am not suggesting that courts should serve the will of the people. I am suggesting that the courts should serve the people. And that is precisely what they did in this scenario by protecting the constitutional rights of those challenging the law. People brought this issue to the courts.

I know you just wanted to make a point, but don't put words into my mouth.