Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou View Post
The "standing" issue is really unsettling to me. You have a majority of voters pass a proposition. One person can challenge it in court and if the attorney general of the state isn't interested in supporting the proposition, it gets overturned by default? That really seems to short-circuit the democratic process. This would mean any referendum passed by the people can be tossed aside if the current government doesn't support it.

On another note- isnt the AG shirking his duty here?
Depends on whether you view elected officials in Jeffersonian or Burkean terms. Jefferson held that an elected official should reflect the will of her constituency. Burke held that an elected official should work for the long term best interests of their constituency EVEN if that meant opposing the will of that constituency in the short term. I would venture to guess that most of the officials in California believe that restricting marriage to hetersexual unions is morally wrong and that they are duty bound to oppose the short-sighted electorate on the issue.