Tuesday, July 2, 2013

The Public Doesn't Care How Gay Marriage Is Legalized

Naturally, after the Supreme Court's momentous rulings on DOMA and Prop 8, USA Today sponsored a poll gauging the country's opinion on the subject. The results show that public support for gay marriage post-Windsor is almost exactly where it was before the Supreme Court ruled parts of DOMA unconstitutional. The fact that nine unelected old people dressed in robes made this decision made no discernible difference. Heck, given that the Presidency has been polarized for decades and Congress is slightly more popular than an intrusion of cockroaches, having a fairly popular institution arrive at the "final" outcome is probably a plus, not a minus.

Readers of Lawyers, Guns, and Money will not be surprised at this outcome. Conservatives have tried to make hay out of judicial lawlessness, but most people don't think of court decisions as any more or less legitimate than Congressional votes or ballot referenda. The public is largely outcome-oriented, not process-oriented.

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