“This case could involve the rights and happiness and equal treatment of millions of people.”

Theodore Olson was talking about the case he filed alongside David Boies, on behalf of two gay couples in California in an attempt to overturn Proposition 8. Olson represented George W. Bush in the Bush v. Gore case in 2000, which put Bush into the White House, while Boies represented Al Gore, which reinforces the (correct, in my opinion) view that same-sex marriage is a nothing less than a civil rights issue.

The New York Times has a great article on Olson, who is an old-school conservative, the type whose beliefs I can identify with, and shows us that conservative vs liberal battle lines are so stereotyped that most intelligent people do not fall neatly in either compartment.

Mr. [Robert] McConnell, a practicing Catholic, said he told Mr. Olson that as a religious matter, he believed that marriage ought to be reserved for two people who can procreate. He said Mr. Olson replied that while he respected his convictions, he considered it a civil-rights issue.

Mr. Olson, who is not a regular churchgoer, began to elaborate on his view that religious beliefs were insufficient legal justification for government to refuse to recognize same-sex marriage, but soon paused. “You don’t agree with me, do you?” Mr. McConnell recalled him saying.

Olson appears confident that they will win the case. I certainly hope his confidence is not misplaced.

(Article via @skinnylatte)