Many gays in Calif. are disappointed that gay marriage won't go before the voters in 2012. Ari Ezra Waldman, a law professor, says we should let the court case about the marriage ban proceed. The process may be slow, but we've already seen benefits.
* During the trial over the ban several key points were explicitly designated as facts. Those include: marriage isn't about procreation, there is no rational reason why gays and lesbians cannot marry.
* A federal court has declared a gay marriage ban to be unconstitutional based on the merits of the case.
* A side ruling declared that a gay judge is not inherently biased when dealing with gay issues.
* The legal case reaches much further than a ballot initiative. Even if it doesn't go to the Supremes, the case lays the groundwork for other federal court districts.
* A ballot initiative only allows our opponents to spew their venomous and false arguments and wastes millions of dollars better spent elsewhere.
A lot of commenters to Waldman's post disagree, saying we should be pursuing victory both in the courts and ballot box. The 9th Circuit Court will probably rule by June so working now to get the question on the ballot for November won't make the case meaningless. If we win the ballot measure, the case won't go to the Supremes, but winning there not a sure thing anyway.
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