‘It is a four-to-three decision ...’: I was beginning to think I was all alone in worrying about the implications of a court-imposed ruling on gay marriage -- even though I support the right of gays to marry. Glad to see I’m not alone. Scot Lehigh has a very smart column on the issue -- and some smart quotes from Attorney General Thomas Reilly. From Reilly:

"It is a four-to-three decision, which all the more cries out for legislative action. ... We don't make social policy in such profound ways through a four-to-three decision of the court rather than through the actions of the people's elected representatives."

Prediction: If the legislature passes a gay civil-union bill (and the court accepts it), gay marriage will be inevitably approved down the road -- by the people’s elected representatives -- after people see that gay marriage is NOT a threat to civilization as we know it. ... The thing that still amazes me is that a majority of people, in some polls, were in favor of gay marriage before the court intervened. This wasn’t a case of a stubborn majority of people opposing, say, equal rights for blacks in the South during the 1950s and early 1960s. The was a case of a growing majority favoring equal rights for gays. And, still, the court felt compelled to short-circuit the legislative, democratic process. ... Maybe I’m being too hard on the court. Maybe they deliberately slipped in a civil-union loophole as an evolutionary way to nudge the process along.   ¶ 8:07 AM