'Ignore Insane Judges' Pleads Handful Of Marriage Protesters Above I-80
BERKELEY (CBS SF) - Not everyone in the Bay Area is planning on joining the marriage equality party at San Francisco Pride weekend.
A small group of protesters took over the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 80 in Berkeley to voice their displeasure with the Supreme Court's ruling ending same-sex marriage bans. Westbound drivers were greeted with signs that read "Ignore Insane Judges" and "Marriage = 1 man + 1 woman."
From Sacramento, the people behind the Proposition 8 California same-sex marriage ban went further, issuing a statement which included the following:
"Today's decision does grave injury to the basic concept that the people—not the courts—make the law. A bare majority of the Supreme Court has abruptly cut off this ongoing debate, unilaterally imposing its view of what's good for society by suddenly discovering a new constitutional right that almost no one would have imagined just a few years ago. The 'separation of powers' they taught us in grade school is now dangerously out of balance, and it's time to remind the government that all constitutional power ultimately resides in the consent of the governed—not in kings, dictators or judges," wrote the Proposition 8 legal defense fund. "Regardless of today's ruling, our coalition remains committed to strengthening and promoting the union of a man and a woman in a view of marriage that recognizes the higher purpose of serving the needs of children, not the personal desires of adults. We will continue to work toward a society that values the inherent right of every child to have both a mother and a father."
Dissenting judges also questioned the constitutional grounds for the ruling.
"This court is not a legislature. Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in dissent. Roberts read a summary of his dissent from the bench, the first time he has done so in nearly 10 years as chief justice.
Justice Scalia went further, stating he's concerned about "this court's threat to American democracy."
