Marriage, California Style

The Golden State made history today!  

Gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry in California, the state Supreme Court said today in a ruling that could be overturned by the voters in November.

In a 4-3 decision, the justices said the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates the "fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship." The ruling is likely to flood county courthouses with applications from couples newly eligible to marry when the decision takes effect in 30 days.

"The California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples," Chief Justice Ronald George wrote in the majority opinion.

Allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry "will not deprive opposite-sex couples of any rights and will not alter the legal framework of the institution of marriage," George said.

In addition, he said, the current state law discriminates against same-sex couples on the basis of their sexual orientation - discrimination that the court, for the first time, put in the same legal category as racial or gender bias.

Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose sanctioning of same-sex marriages in 2004 led to today's ruling, said, "It's about human dignity. It's about civil rights. It's about time."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has twice vetoed same-sex marriage bills, issued a statement today saying, "I respect the court's decision and as governor, I will uphold its ruling." He also restated his opposition to the constitutional amendment that is likely to be on the November ballot.

Churches and other religious institutions will not have to recognize or perform ceremonies for the civil marriages. However, conservatives are ready to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.

The California Marriage case was argued on behalf of 14 same-sex couples and two organizations, Equality California and Our Family Coalition. The couples were represented by the ACLU with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, Heller Ehrman LLP, and the Law Office of David C. Codell, along with the City of San Francisco in a companion case. The cases, along with four others, were consolidated into one appeal.

Today, victory was achieved.