Saturday, February 05, 2005

Gay marriage amendment tied to fears about Virginia judges

The Washington Times says here that supporters of the gay marriage amendment to the Virginia Constitution "fear Virginia judges will be as liberal as those in Massachusetts."

Well, you knew somebody was going to say that. In this Balkinization post, Balkin explains yet again how the strategy of litigation over gay marriage - with the New York case being the latest ruling - is not to be preferred over a strategy of achieving results through the legislature. He's probably right, in the sense that any court decisions in favor of same-sex marriage will cause an escalating counter-reaction - to the detriment, really, of the justice system in general and judicial independence in particular.

When the members of the Virginia Supreme Court are next up for reappointment, will they be asked questions about their ruling in the fornication case and what they think about same-sex issues? I'm guessing that they will. I'm guessing that every judge up for appointment or reappointment at every level in every state will be asked those kinds of questions, for the foreseeable future. And, probably, that's a shame.

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