Since 2004, when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom opened up City Hall to same-sex marriages in violation of state law, same-sex marriage supporters have demonstrated that if they didn't like a law, they could break it. Then, when the California Supreme Court ruled in their favor in 2008, Newsom famously crowed, "This door's wide open now. It's going to happen -- whether you like it or not."

After Proposition 8 passed, opponents targeted citizen donors to the "yes" campaign for harassment. Their threats of retaliation and boycotts -- which forced a handful of Proposition 8 donors to resign from their private-sector jobs -- fed the suspicion that if same-sex marriage is legalized, any dissent against the practice would not be tolerated.