Correct ruling by ninth circuit

The decision yesterday to stay the enforcement of the decision overturning California's ban on gay marriage is clearly correct. First, one needs to remember that the stay pending the decision on appeal does not mean anything with regard to how the Ninth Circuit will decide that issue. It only concerns whether or not marriages should go ahead in the interim. By issuing the stay, the Ninth Circuit prevents people from being in the position where they marry, only to later have a court say that they had no right to do so. Just imagine the confusion if a gay couple marries and one of them dies before the supreme court overrules the trial court. What happens? Is the estate of the decedant left to his spouse, or is there no spouse. Does it make a difference that the decedent thought he was legally married when he died, only to have it latter ruled that the marriage was invalid. The same types of questions arise with regard to filing income taxes, collecting social security, and a whole host of other items. The simplest thing will be for there to be a stay until there is a final decision.