I’m sorry, but I don’t buy the “narrow scope” argument. Decisions by the nation’s highest court on constitutional issues are automatically binding throughout the nation. The U.S. Constitution is the SUPREME LAW of the ENTIRE COUNTRY. It says so in Article VI, Section 1 — the Supremacy Clause.

Therefore, a ruling by the high court striking down Prop. 8 on Fourteenth Amendment equal-protection grounds MUST, under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, apply to ALL 30-plus other state laws that bar gay and lesbian couples from marrying. For the Supreme Court to do otherwise would make a mockery of its landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision, that struck down laws in 16 states that barred interracial couples from marrying.

From a CBS new report on Romney’s reaction to the Prop 8 ruling:

“Today, unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage,” Romney said in a statement. “This decision does not end this fight, and I expect it to go to the Supreme Court. That prospect underscores the vital importance of this election and the movement to preserve our values.”

Romney emphasized his belief that “marriage is between a man and a woman” and vowed that “as president, I will protect traditional marriage and appoint judges who interpret the Constitution as it is written and not according to their own politics and prejudices.”

To be precise, the Law did exist, and was taken away, which is one aspect, but the RIGHT [to Equal Protection] exists via the US Constitution, even though Referrendum prevents its uniform application, un-Constitutionally so.

The US Constitution was THE basis for the case, and it cannot be ignored.

We can blather on about how the 2012 election is about the deficit, the economy or jobs, but let’s not lose sight of the the real prize — which party will control the selection of the next two (and likely) three appointments to the US Supreme Court and a bevy of other federal judgeships. Talk all you want about legislative advancements, or ludicrous suggestions from that people in the privacy of the voting booth will do the “right thing”, the fact remains that all major advances in equality have emanated from the judiciary.

This indisputable truth is what GOP power-brokers fear most: economies recover; judicial appointments are for life. Ask yourself: do you really want a conservative republican president backed by a republican controlled Senate to unbridled power to shape the judicial branch? That is the unspoken dark side of the world that LCR promotes.