Anything but unexpected...

Well, this was inevitable and expected. And I think the court did the right thing. I wholly support the rights of same-sex couples to marry (and yes, I mean marry, not unite civilly or whatever...), but the court exists to keep officials in their proper roles, and rein in overreaching. I was quite proud of Mayor Newsom's boldness in bringing the issue of equal rights before the public in such a dramatic fashion. But I understood, even as I wiped my misty eyes watching the ceremonies on the news, that he had overstepped his mayoral prerogatives. Had this been allowed to stand, it would have set a precedent that many of the people who are so upset at todays ruling would have sorely regretted. Many are the "progressives" in San Francisco who would flip their wigs if the Mayor used a similar move to, say, make housing policy. They'd stage a vomit in on the steps of city hall. Here's hoping we can find a way to both grant full equality to all citizens and maintain the checks and balances that make the system function.