The Supreme Court arguments on the issue of gay marriage have brought in protesters from around the nation.  Most of them support the idea, while there are some who do not.  One of the consistent themes of the legal arguments in support of gay marriage has been the comparison with interracial marriage.  African Americans often find the comparisons to be insulting, while gay rights advocates deem them to be appropriate.

One interesting exchange took place between Attorney Theodore B. Olson, an attorney fighting against Proposition 8, a California law that restricted marriage to being between one man and one woman.  In a conversation with Justice Antonin Scalia, Olson responded to the justice’s question with one of his own, adding fuel to the debate over whether or not racial justice can and should be compared with gay rights.  Here is how it went down, according to the Wall Street Journal:

Justice Antonin Scalia asked Olson when exactly it became unconstitutional to bar gays and lesbians from marrying.  Was it 1791?  1868?  Mr. Olson responded with a question of his own: When did it become unconstitutional to ban interracial marriage?

Don’t try to answer my question with your own question, Justice Scalia responded.  Mr. Olson then said he could give no specific date on which a ban on gay marriage became unconstitutional.  But courts, he said, have never required that kind of precision.

Read more: Techyville