Yesterday was a momentous day if you care about civil rights in this country.  Federal Judge Vaughn Walker, appointed by George H.W. Bush, ruled that the state can not interfere with the contract that is marriage, gay or straight and overturned California’s ban on gay marriage  that was voted on as Proposition 8.  Ted Olson, who prosecuted Bill Clinton during the impeachment hearings, was one of the attorneys who argued for Gay Marriage.


There is no credibility to any of the arguments for the state being involved in peoples personal lives.  If you are a conservative, this should be a no brainier.  You want less government and for people to have more liberty.  Why should the state have any say in who you love and how you commit to that person.


For those who will argue that the judge is an activist who over-ruled a popular vote let me explain how rights work in our republic.  You don’t get a vote on rights.  In a republic, even minorities have rights that are protected even when it’s not popular.  The court is there to protect your rights and that’s what Judge Walker did. It wasn’t popular when the courts ended segregation and Jim Crow laws.  It wasn’t popular when the court ended bans on inter racial marriage.  


The Declaration of Independence states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  Please note who gave us these rights, the “Creator” (read God) and his vote counts more then all of us.  We don’t get a vote on rights.  They come from God and they are not subject to popular opinion or referendum.