Seem far-fetched? Think about it. If the courts decide that the mayor of San Francisco was wrong to ignore state law, but that he was right on the fundamental issue – denying two men the right to marry one another is unconstitutional – then expect other groups searching for equal rights to use the mayor’s approach.

Look at the demographics. According to Census 2000, less than half the people living in California are European-Americans. One-third of those living in San Francisco are Asian. Most of those living in Milpitas are Asian. Ditto for Daly City, where one-third of the residents consider themselves Fillipino, rather than American.

The fastest growing group of immigrants in California between 1990 and 2000 were Asian Indians – Hindus – adherents to this world’s third-largest religion. Nearly 10 percent of all those now living in Cupertino and Union City, and slightly more than 10 percent of those now living in Fremont and Sunnyvale are Asian Indian.

Now, fast-forward 10 years. Silicon Valley is booming, much the way it was during the 1990s. Computer companies and bio-tech companies are hiring at a brisk pace, and another wave of immigrants are drawn from India to the Bay Area, just as they were in the 1990s. Like other immigrant groups, these Hindus tend to hang together, to form their own community, to preserve their culture and pass it on to their children.

The result is this: after a few years, the overwhelming majority of those living in Union City are Hindu, and 90 percent of the students at Delaine Eastin Elementary are the children of Hindu parents. One evening, there’s a school board meeting and there’s so much talk about the controversial Pledge of Allegiance. Back in 2004 (in the case of Elk Grove Unified School District v. Michael Newdow), the Supreme Court ruled that it was acceptable for public school teachers to lead students in a pledge to “one nation under God.” But that doesn’t sit well with most folks in Union City. They’re teaching their children about many gods, and they don’t want them to recite a pledge that says there’s only one god.

The school board alters the pledge. At Delaine Eastin Elementary, students pledge their allegiance to “one nation under the gods.” There’s nothing unlawful about this and there’s nothing unconstitutional about it either: if it’s okay to have public school students recite a pledge to a nation under one god, what could be wrong with a pledge to a nation under many gods?

This change doesn’t sit well with Mr. Jones, a long-time resident of Union City and a devout Catholic with a daughter attending Delaine Eastin Elementary. He doesn’t want his daughter reciting a pledge to many gods; he doesn’t even want her to hear such a pledge, but what can he do? The matter was settled back in 2004.