a small step toward marriage equality?

By now everyone has heard about Prop 8 being declared unconstitutional by a federal district judge in San Francisco. That is great, but I have to wonder where this will end up. Will the Ninth Circuit Court, and later the Supreme Court, agree, or will one or the other overturn the decision? It all comes down to nine people in DC, their personal beliefs (and biases). I remember the huge disappointment in 1986 or '87 when the Supreme Court surprised the gay community and upheld rather than overturned Georgia's sodomy law. (I grew up and was living in Georgia at the time, so it hit me personally very hard.) And even if the law is ruled unconstitutional in the end, will it only affect California? Or will it be used to overturn anti-marriage equality laws and constitutional amendments in other states? I always get nervous thinking about this - having basic human rights of a minority up for a vote by the majority. I did donate money to the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the organization that brought the lawsuit. The trial also reminded me to always give people the chance to do the right thing. I did not like Ted Olson when he argued Bush versus Gore in the Supreme Court, or when he was Solicitor General in the Bush administration. But he did the right thing in this case. Even Republicans can do the right thing on occasion.