All things considered, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has it pretty good: A great job from which he can't be fired and a number of big accomplishments including striking down the Voting Rights Act and declaring that corporate entities should have the same rights as individual American citizens when it comes to spending money on elections. But that
isn't stopping him from being angry about the fact that the Supreme Court also said that same-sex couples shouldn't be singled out for discrimination simply because they are married:
Justice Antonin Scalia warned Monday that the Supreme Court is overstepping its authority on matters that should be left to Congress or voters.
Speaking at an event sponsored by the Federalist Society in Montana, Scalia said the high court should not intervene on issues such as wiretapping and “inventing” new minorities, according to reports.
“It's not up to the courts to invent new minorities that get special protections,” Scalia said, in an apparent reference to the court's recent decisions on gay marriage and federal benefits for same-sex couples.
It would be one thing if Scalia never, ever voted to reverse a law passed by Congress. That wouldn't be the right thing to do, but at least he'd have a consistent position. But instead of doing that, he picks and chooses when to invoke the argument that the court should defer to Congress.
But as obnoxious as his whining can be, there's a silver lining: It means he's lost an argument. And when Antonin Scalia has lost an argument, that's a pretty decent sign that something good is happening.