I perform hundreds of weddings, and they included one same-sex marriage.
—Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the Sacramento appellate court justice Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to replace outgoing Justice Ron George — who approved gay marriage but then upheld Prop 8 — as the chief justice of the California Supreme Court, in her only comment about her views on same-sex marriage [via]
ForeverGay
Saying nothing about Prop 8 means she is against same-sex marriage.
Republican
@ForeverGay:
Not necessarily. If she were a legislator, I’d agree with you. But judges are an entirely different matter. I’d have been very surprised if she had stated a position on an issue that could conceivably come before the court again in the near future.
Clint
she performed a gay wedding ceremony. sounds like shes personally fine with gay marriage. the question is does she think voters have a right to pass discriminatory laws.
B
No. 3 · Clint wrote, “she performed a gay wedding ceremony. sounds like shes personally fine with gay marriage. the question is does she think voters have a right to pass discriminatory laws.”
More precisely, whatever her personal opinion on same-sex marriages, she isn’t going to let that opinion interfere with her duties as a judge.
As to the right of the voters to pass discriminatory laws, unfortunately the California Constitution can be changed by a simple majority of the voters. Unless a discriminatory law is illegal under the U.S. Constitution or federal law, she may have no choice. That’s a problem with California’s constitution and the initiative process, but it is not one a judge can fix.
B
In No 4, I submitted it a bit too quickly – it should have said, “Unless a discriminatory amendment is illegal under …” Hopefully the intention was clear from context.
Queer Supremacist
@B: It is also proof that direct Democracy doesn’t work.