Some interesting reactions to the gay marriage decision by local activists, law experts and former politicians on New England Cable News's Newsnight with Chet Curtis program. For the most part, the conservatives all have a more rigid interpretation than the liberals. While the liberals think the decision left some "wiggle room" for real decision making by the legislature, the conservatives all think that they were soundly defeated.
According to the conservatives, there is nothing the legislature could do to prevent the court from legalizing gay marriage in six months. Even if the legislature approve a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman next February, which would be voted on for approval by referendum in the November 2006 elections, the court would not put their decision on hold. Potentially, we could have a situation where gay marriage is legal when the public is against it and it's obvious that they would vote to get rid of it in two and a half years. According to the liberals, the court might allow the legislature to pass a version of civil unions instead, though they agree that this would not make the gay couples happy and could lead to further litigation.
