Free California

California’s fate today begins to suggest that of Tibet.

It is a free and independent place with its own unique culture and vital life
force, and its will is clear. But self-governance is quashed by autonomous and
arbitrary magistrates thousands of miles away.

Here is a proposed amendment for the fledgling California constitutional
convention: “No one should judge Californians but Californians. The California
Supreme Court is the supreme court in the land. Citizens of any sex, race, ethnicity,
sexual orientation or religious persuasion or lack thereof can be California
Supreme Court justices provided that they were born in the state and graduated
from a California law school. (Law schools from Massachusetts, Connecticut and
London don’t count. Different traditions, different culture, different values.)
The California Supreme Court’s ruling is the final appeal and the supreme law
of the land. It can only be overturned by a majority vote in a state
referendum.”

Because freedom is not free and it must be taken, because it is never given.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) said this weekend he was disappointed that the
court overruled the “will of the people” in California. Federal dominance
has been taken for granted since contention rose between Adams and Jefferson in
the Marshall Court. But when these early cases are reviewed, the familiar
political influence and shenanigans are uncovered. The question is, Who gives
the federal courts the right to overturn the common will of the people? Can the
courts give themselves that right? Why should the people abide by a ruling if
it runs against their collective will and instincts?

In an opinion piece in The Christian Science Monitor, Jeff Amestoy writes, “If [U.S. District Court Judge
Vaughn] Walker’s decision is ultimately affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court,
state constitutional provisions in some 30 states restricting marriage to
opposite-sex couples would be null and void.”

Judge Walker’s ruling may become historic not because of the substance of the
issue — gay marriage — but because it occurs as new perspectives on state and
regional sovereignty are awakening across America. And that which was
universally taken for granted as egalitarian, right and enlightened just yesterday
can appear overnight as random, arbitrary, dictatorial and territorial when the
sea changes.

Visit Mr. Quigley’s website at http://quigleyblog.blogspot.com.