In a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled yesterday that the gay marriage hearings being held in a San Francisco federal court could not be videotaped. Ruling in the majority were conservative justices John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito.
Remember those five names. Because if this case is elevated to the Supreme Court level, those will be the names attached to the ruling that keeps marriage bans in place; which is why I have been steadfastly against taking this to the federal level at this moment in time.
I appreciate what Ted Olson and David Boies are trying to do, but the gamble is awfully risky in my opinion. I just don't see the votes for our side on the court right now. Four (Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito) will definitely vote no. That means Kennedy serves as the swing vote. And while he voted with the majority in the Texas sodomy case several years ago, that doesn't mean he will automatically vote in our favor in this case.
And, truth be told, none of us knows how Sotomayor will vote.
No. In my opinion it would have been better to keep our powder dry and let this play out over the long haul in the states. If we lose this in the Supreme Court, then, although such a ruling would simply throw this back to the states, a loss would be awfully hard to recover from.
