I don't think we're dealing with unrepentant assholes here. We're dealing with inconsiderate idiots. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." I know I've hurt people out of stupidity my share of times.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux once said the the cardinal virtues are "humility, humility, and humility." When we see bad things in the world, we should try to correct them, but we shouldn't automatically assume that the people doing the bad things are always bad people. That is, unless we're all bad people too?

Yesterday's oral arguments tell us very little. Perhaps the arguments today in United States v. Windsor (the Defense of Marriage Act case) will provide some more information.

It will be interesting to read this brief after it is submitted to the court. Beyond the obvious problem that gay marriage itself is unpopular within the Republican party (only 1/3 in favor, but rising, according to the NY Times article this article pulls from), states rights/federalism arguments resonate with the American Right. They are arguably even more important to the conservative justices on the Supreme Court.

Striking down Proposition 8 as unconstitutional is a significant blow to state power in a realm that is traditionally a state rather than a federal concern (marriage). Depending on the arguments they use, this pro-Big Government stance may be even more radical for these republicans than their pro-gay marriage stance.

I used to live in the Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights area and it's remarkable to see how the census track breakdowns--which are practically block by block in some areas of New York City--really do reflect the dynamics of the neighborhood.

Thank you for sharing this. For anyone who finds this interesting I would highly recommend the author James Daily's book "The Law of Superheroes." It is highly entertaining, written in the similar easy to understand style of this article, and contains (in my admittedly non-expert opinion as a law student) accurate statements of American law.