equality watch redux

a great discussion here of the legal implications of the stupid federal "defense of marriage act," which a goddam democrat (that would be clinton) signed and which, like the equally stupid georgia constitutional amendment, had nothing to do with outlawing, say, fornication or anything else that had to do with the straight world's crumbling marriages----here is a great piece on the huge legal mess that has ensued---

As many people have remarked, these holdings are immensely significant for reasons that go beyond the issue of marriage. The California Supreme Court is one of the most respected courts in the country and is fairly conservative on many issues, with six of the seven members having been appointed by Republican governors.

With this ruling, it is the first state supreme court to hold that antigay discrimination is inherently constitutionally suspect (i.e. that it provokes "strict scrutiny"), and the first to recognize the fundamental right to marry as one that includes same-sex couples.