“I disagree - They didn’t punt; they repudiated the power (and much legitimacy) of the CA supreme court. You see, they denied standing that the CA supreme court had recognized.”
The conservatives know this is coming but they wanted to put it off to preserve what little respect the people have for the Supremes. I do not agree with that. I would have let it crash and burn as it will inevitably but Scalia and the other conservatives have given their lives to the institution and they want to hang on as long as possible.
“But the alternative was to decide the case and have Kennedy and the leftists declare a constitutional right for homosexuals, plural marriage, marry your dog people, etc to “marry.”
I also think this is the reason Sotomayor granted the stay. This a good case for Kennedy to declare the “constitutional right” to redefine marriage since the state of Utah will defend their laws, unlike California. In this case, the conservatives cannot pull the lack of standing dodge and the left will get their decision.