Well, I have to make one last post before I bid you all adieu, to go fishing for the next six days. This has been a pleasant diversion, tying knots in knickers for the past few days.

The argument that the majority cannot take away the rights of the minority completely misses the point in Proposition 8. Our rights come from the people, not the courts. The only body with the power to grant the right to same-sex marriage is the people, acting through the legislature or a ballot initiative.

Therefore, the "right" to gay marriage created by the California Supreme Court last a May was never a legitimate right. A right to something is not legitimate unless it is granted by the body that has the power to grant such rights.

Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education did not end segregation, not even close. Congress did, through the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

American history shows that a right is secure only when it has been ratified by the people, through legislative acts or constitutional amendments.

Whether gay marriage threatens traditional marriage is not a judgment that can be made by the courts. Gay marriage supporters may be right that gay marriage poses no threat to traditional marriage, and that gay couples should be allowed to adopt and be foster parents. Fine, make those arguments--but these kinds of arguments are properly addressed to the legislature, or the people in a statewide ballot initiative. It is the function of legislatures to make those kinds of value judgments, not the courts.

All states also ban polygamous marriages and incestuous marriages. Most of those kinds of marriages would also only involve consenting adults. But the state has the power to ban them because a majority of the people have judged those kinds of marriages to be immoral, or harmful to society.

Is gay marriage the moral equivalent of polygamy? That is essentially the issue being raised here. And when a majority of the people of a particular state, and a majority of the American people, have made a clear judgement on this issue, as they have, the courts should give deference to this decision.

Therefore, the only way Proposition 8 or similar initiatives can be legitimately overturned is through another ballot initiative granting the right to gay marriage. Have at it, folks.

I'll check in next Monday, just to see how many panties have been wadded and how many knickers knotted here. For now, it's off to fish! (I do have open seats on Thursday and Friday, if anyone cares to fish Idaho's Clearwater River for big B-runs.)