Gay Marriage Ban In California Overturned
In a stunning 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court has ruled today that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional making it the second state after Massachusetts to allow gay couples to legally marry.
From calitics, the majority opinion concludes:
in light of the conclusions we reach concerning the constitutional questions brought to us for resolution, we determine that the language of section 300 limiting the designation of marriage to a union "between a man and a woman" is unconstitutional and must be stricken from the statute, and that the remaining statutory language must be understood as making the designation of marriage available both to opposite-sex and same-sex couples. In addition, because the limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples imposed by section 308.5 can have no constitutionally permissible effect in light of the constitutional conclusions set forth in this opinion, that provision cannot stand.
So what does this mean going forward?
Plaintiffs are entitled to the issuance of a writ of mandate directing the appropriate state officials to take all actions necessary to effectuate our ruling in this case so as to ensure that county clerks and other local officials throughout the state, in performing their duty to enforce the marriage statutes in their jurisdictions, apply those provisions in a manner consistent with the decision of this court.
Wow.
As you'll recall, in 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco authorized the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 4,000 couples were married until they were halted by the...you guessed it...CA Supreme Court. A stunning turnaround in 4 short (although not short enough) years.
But as Lawyerish rightly points out, this is not the end of the fight. The anti-equality forces won't go down easy and in fact have already submitted a ballot initiative calling for a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to between a man and a woman. If it does make it to the ballot, it won't be until November where millions of motivated Californian liberals will be turning out in record numbers; in other words, I think the good guys just might win this one.
To his credit, Arnold Schwarzenegger has come out against it and reiterated his opposition in a statement today:
"I respect the Court's decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn the state Supreme Court ruling."
Word is that licenses will begin to be issued within 30 to 60 days. This is a huge day for equality and for all Californians. And it gets us closer to the day when the issue of gay marriage won't be perceived to be radioactive by our presidential candidates.
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