Letters: Democracy and Prop. 8

Re “Prop. 8 case all about strategy,” July 7

The case that ended up overturning Proposition 8 may have been “all about strategy,” but it certainly was not about democracy.

By a one-vote majority, the Supreme Court effectively refused to hear the case and a lower court decision stood. Thus the votes of 7 million Californians who supported Proposition 8 were thrown out — a blow to democracy.

The federal district court ruling was decided by Judge Vaughn R. Walker, a gay man who should have recused himself because of his bias. Here, one vote negated those of 7 million Californians.

Instead, there should have been another proposition, and the people could have voted again.

So, while strategy won out in Proposition 8’s demise, democracy and the will of the majority lost.

Tony Hillbruner

San Gabriel

Re “Left out by the law — again,” Opinion, July 7

Those who don’t like the consequences of any law are quick to assert that sentences written in plain English don’t really mean what they say. To wit, Article IV, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution reads, “Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.”

This means that if first cousins marry in a state that allows it, then every other state has to recognize that marriage as legal, even if local laws would not permit such a marriage.

Last time I looked, the Constitution was still the supreme law of the land. Through what convoluted reasoning is it possible for any state to deny the benefits of marriage to anyone legally married in another state?

Alan Woodson

Mission Viejo

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