Deinonychus antirrhopus

Supreme Court (non)decision

High court won't review Mass. gay marriage law.

The Supreme Court sidestepped a dispute over gay marriage on Monday, rejecting a challenge by conservative groups to the status of Massachusetts as the only state that sanctions same-sex marriages.

Justices had been asked to overturn a year-old decision by the Massachusetts high court that legalized gay marriage. They declined, without comment.

It appears that gay marriages in Massachusetts will remain legal for the foreseeable future. The legislators and voters of Mass. can still change this with a constitutional amendment, but the process is complicated. IIRC, an amendment has to pass in two consecutive legislatures before going to the people for a vote.

I'm happy with the outcome of this non-decision, but I really don't like the method for getting there. My fear is that judicial impositions will cause a backlash, e.g., the amendments passed in other states in the last election. It may even provide some impetus for the FMA.

My hope is that the gay marriages will be at least as successful as hetero-marriages. It will take a couple of years for Massachusetts to pass an amendment -- hopefully during that time the voters will realize that allowing gay marriages isn't that big of a deal.

Link provided by Boi from Troy.