Although there wasn't much movement on the Prop 8 case this week, there's been some drama around how Republicans could control the future of marriage equality in the upcoming election.

Conventional wisdom has it that although the GOP is behind the curve when it comes to civil rights, they're quietly catching up. But some prominent California candidates still aren't catching up fast enough, particularly Attorney General candidate Steve Cooley. He's said that he'll defend Prop 8, despite Judge Walker's finding that it violates the Constitution. Apparently, Steve Cooley would rather defend prejudice than the Constitution.

His rival, Kamala Harris, has expressed her opposition to Prop 8.

Meanwhile, Jerry Brown had a similar spat with anti-gay rival Meg Whitman. He said that he wouldn't defend the marriage ban as governor, since the Intervenors (the Prop 8 backers) can do that themselves. That pronouncement came as a bit of a surprise, since there's been a lot of debate as to whether the Intervenors actually have the right to appeal the ruling. They took Jerry Brown's statement as supporting their case, but it's utterly non-binding and may really mean nothing at all.

And Gavin Newsom, candidate for Lieutenant Governor, may get an unexpected boost in his campaign against anti-gay Abel Maldonado. An ultra-anti-gay candidate named Karen England has just entered the race, and may siphon off votes from Maldonado. Here's hoping!