Friday, May 16, 2008

Using the Constitution

AO and I watched the second-to-last episode of HBO's John Adams miniseries last night. If you like costume dramas and history, the series is for you. We've enjoyed it, even though the American colonial period isn't exactly the hippest subject these days. The show captures the complexities of establishing and living in accordance with a constitution. Constitutions can be powerful instruments for good, as yesterday's gay-marriage ruling in California demonstrates.

“In view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship,” Chief Justice George wrote, “the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.”

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