Who makes law in a democracy? What should we do when laws contradict one another? Who is the ultimate sovereign in the state of California -- the people at the polls or their written Constitution or their appointed judges or their elected legislators? Can fundamental constitutional rights -- inalienable rights -- be withdrawn from one group but not another?

These are big, thorny questions with implications that go well beyond whether gays are allowed to marry. What follows is a cheater's guide to the issues at hand.