[Winona Online Democracy]
In the aftermath of the recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decisions on "gay marriage" the neocons have predictably responded with concern about those darn "activist judges". Apparently, an "activist judge" is one that makes a ruling they disagree with. Funny we never hear anything about "activist judges" when a court overturns an Affirmative Action plan drafted by a state legislature, or when they make a decision further eroding the separation between church and state, such as allowing for vouchers to pay for private schools at the taxpayers expense.
It also appears that those who would decry the Mass. decisions because the majority opinion runs counter to the decisions do not understand the role of the judiciary in our democratic system. As a favorite political science instructor of mine at WSU used to say, "one role of the courts is to protect the rights of the minority [from the tyranny of the majority]"
The fact that a majority of people allegedly oppose "gay marriage" is one of the best arguments in favor of the court's rulings.
Prior to 1954, it is safe to say that a majority of the citizens of our nation probably favored separate educational systems for whites and non-whites. How many of us today think the Supreme Court was wrong in Brown? Or think that the Court should have ruled by public opinion polls and upheld the lower courts' decision that the separate school systems in Topeka, Kansas were not a violation of the Constitution?
I predict that fifty years from today, our children and children's children will look back at the debate on "gay marriage' with the same bewilderment many of us today look at the civil rights movement and wonder what all the fuss was about.
Dean A. Lanz
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