Emanations From The Penumbras

'Puter's against gay marriage. Many of 'Puter's friends are for gay marriage. Without getting into the merits of the underlying debate, 'Puter would like to think people of good faith on both sides of the issue could agree on one thing: Oh Sweet Baby Jesus In The Manger, please don't let gay marriage be decided like abortion.

That is, by forcing the determination of the legality of abortion into the courts (actually, into the hands of nine unelected men), proponents have led us through nearly 40 years of vitriol and vituperation. On both sides. The abortion issue should have been decided by either state or federal legislatures. The legislators are directly accountable to their constituents, and thus more sympathetic to their concerns. Legislators make laws, courts perform judicial review. Roe v. Wade stood this model on its head. 'Puter believes that if America had legislated, rather than litigated, abortion, abortion would still be legal, though more restricted, in most if not all states.

Similarly, 'Puter recommends that courts stay the hell out of the gay marriage debate, rather than finding an emanation from the penumbras to cover gay nuptials. Hopefully, this will lead to a thorough debate and reasoned legislative compromise most people would grudgingly live with, rather than a hated imposed diktat from our legal solons on high.

Just a mid-Monday afternoon thought.