Same-sex couples eager to wed in California

Hundreds of same-sex couples in the Southern California are eager to know when they can start to make wedding plans again.

Hundreds of same-sex couples, their supporters, children and dogs squeezed onto the lawn in front of a stage at West Hollywood Park for Wednesday night’s rally following federal judge Vaughn Walker’s decision to overturn Proposition 8.

“This fight isn’t just about marriage equality," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, "It’s about respect.”

Villaraigosa said Walker’s decision brings gay people closer to equality. His comments resonated with a couple of female Episcopal priests visiting from the Bay Area. Molly Darling recalled a lesbian couple she married at Saint John’s Oakland, before Prop 8 took effect in late 2008.

“I had baptized their children," said Darling. "They had taught Sunday school. They had served in the leadership of the church and it was very difficult to have to look at them prior to that and say there’s nothing we can do to legitimize in the eyes of the state, of the church, your commitment to each other.”

Same-sex couples want the legal recognition married heterosexuals enjoy. They’re willing to take their battle to the U.S. Supreme Court to get it and that could take years. In the meantime, it’s unclear whether California will allow same-sex couples to tie the knot as the case winds through the legal system.