The indefatigable Jerry Brown has held almost every elected state position there is in California.  Currently our Attorney General, he scored big points with me yesterday when he demanded a change in Proposition 8, the upcoming ballot measure aimed at creating a constitutional amendment preventing same-sex marriage.

Brown changed the phrase “only marriage between a man and a woman will be valid and recognized” to [this initiative] “will eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.” 

This wording change is a triumph for fairness, as it makes clear that, since the recent California Supreme Court ruling, same-sex couples currently have the right to marry, and that this initiative would not merely block the expansion of rights, but would cancel existing rights already held by many Californians.

This is the first indication of something I predicted a few months ago.  Taking existing rights away from people is a much bigger deal than merely blocking the expansion of rights to groups or individuals who have not yet enjoyed those rights.  It’s a more difficult thing to do, as the homophobic creeps behind Prop. 8 are finding out.