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May 15, 2008
UPDATE: CA Supreme Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Okay!
Photo by Patrick Doheny via Flickr
Update (10:41 a.m.): The CA Supreme Court has ruled that gay and lesbian couples should have the freedom to marry. Read the entire opinion here.
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The California Supreme Court today will issue it's decision on whether or not lesbian and gay couples will have the freedom to marry in the state.
The Court heard oral arguments for the case on March 4, 2008. If the Court rules in favor of the freedom to marry, California will become the second state in the nation, following Massachusetts, to uphold a state constitution that doesn't recognize bigotry, hatred and discrimination as the law of the land.
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Is there any non-religious reason these couples shouldn't be able to marry?
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Nope and that's the whole point. I dont see why this is such a big deal... Im just saying.
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Ajde, Congratulations>
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i have my fingers crossed.
this is the kind of thing i moved here from the bible belt for.
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good job, california supreme court!
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I just saw an update that the Supreme Court overturned the ban. Congrats California!
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Awesome news. However, some conservative groups are already attempting to amass signatures to amend the CA Constitution to disallow these marriages. :-/
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Here's where I get pessimistic.
Now, don't get me wrong, I fully and enthusiastically support equal marriage rights. 100%. But I think the state's rights argument is a mistake. For one thing, that question was settled by a civil war. For another, federal law always trumps state law, for better or for worse. And right now Federal law is extremely hostile to gay rights, and equal marriage rights. My fear is that, with the current supreme court, a challenge will go all the way to the SCOTUS, and they'll overturn the law. And poof, no more equal marriage.
(And if you don't believe me, ask yourself whether or not the federal government gives a damn about that prescription for medicinal marijuana you got from your doctor. Nope, they'll still arrest you. And your doctor will also go to jail.)
Though I'm exceedingly happy for gay couples in California, any "right" that isn't recognized in all 50 states is still second class. Gay people better not move to the South or they'll be back to barely not breaking the law. And gay people who want to marry their significant other from another country? Too bad. Your marriage won't be recognized for citizenship purposes.
I guess my point is that we'd better get ready to ratchet up the pressure on democrats to get nationwide gay rights legislation passed. Because until that happens, this is just symbolic. Awesome symbolism that I support, but symbolism nonetheless.
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2nd state in the US yo overturn the ban. Whether it sticks or not, this makes me proud to be a Californian.
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To me, government nor the state should tell you what you can and cannot do. Congrats California for having some balls!
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ross, way to go negative right out of the gate! :) you're right that federal law trumps state law when the feds decide that they want to put the pressure on for one reason or another, but i would argue that for the couples who can now get real, legitimate marriages, this is much more than symbolism.
now, we'll see what happens in november, as grendel20 pointed out conservative groups in CA are after a constitutional amendment this year, which would unfortunately overturn today's ruling. but we don't yet know how that would affect marriages that took place during this time. i agree with you that this needs to be addressed on a national level, ideally, but since we seem to be far from changing people's minds about this issue (the vast, vast majority of states that vote on this vote in favor of a ban) i would say that here in CA, we should instead focus on making a difference locally and make sure that a marriage ban doesn't happen here. it's incredibly important, feds be damned, that states like CA remain progressive on issues like this.
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It makes a difference in the day-to-day life of a queer to be married. "Allowed into the ER in the case of spouse's accident" difference. "State taxes may be filed jointly" difference. And hundreds of other laws. This is GREAT news.
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This is one of those times that makes me proud to be a Californian!!
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Yeah I'm totally happy about it. But until we A) get sane people back in washington, B) realize our opponents are people who believe gay people should go to prison, and C) beat back their attacks once and for all on the federal level, it's still scary.
Sorry to be negative, though. This is great news.
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of course it's scary what happens on a national level with gay rights, and on the state level in most places. but i think that's the whole idea - most folks who are for the freedom to marry and for equality DO realize that our opponents are bigoted extremists who will stop at nothing to get their ideological agendas passed. that's why we have to do what we can and take action on a local level, and prevent a constitutional amendment - state victories like this pave the way for bigger social change.
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Every state that supports gay marriage is one more wave in a tide of social freedom. Although the new regime does not give any more cause for hope.
During the LGBT debates that Kucinich was the one candidate that came out and said, "You either support equal rights or you don't." Everyone else waffled.
Obama said gay marriage should be left up to individual churches to decide. Clinton said her opposition to gay marriage is "personal" and whereas Obama said it's a matter for churches to decide, she said it's a matter for states to decide.
Of course, no republicans would be caught dead at that debate, although they were invited.
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i'm proud of our fair state today!
now we just have to make sure we all come out and vote down the constitutional amendment the wingnuts want.
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Ross, this is the California Supreme Court ruling that a California state law is unconstitutional under the California State Constitution.
The US Supreme Court can't overturn that ruling - they have no jurisdiction.
(That's not to say there aren't other ways this could be rolled back - but this decision being overturned by the US Supreme Court is not one of them.)
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Gays and lesbians have EVERY right in the world to be as miserable as every other heterosexual married couple.
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Thanks for keeping us in the loop. If anyone is interested in one queer Angeleno's opinion about the court ruling, you can check out my blog post: http://newworldview.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/is-there-a-happy-ending-to-the-gay-marriage-fight/