California Supreme Court Overturns Homosexual-Marriage Ban
It will obviously be appealed to the SCOTUS.
Based on multiple state constitutions that have outlawed homosexual marriage, it will be interesting to see how this falls out.
From the WSJ:
In a monumental victory for the gay rights movement, the California Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage Thursday in a ruling that would allow same-sex couples in the nation's biggest state to tie the knot.
Domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage, the justices ruled 4-3 in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George.
Outside the courthouse, gay marriage supporters cried and cheered as news spread of the decision.
"Our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," the court wrote. (Read the ruling.)
The city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples and gay rights groups sued in March 2004 after the court halted San Francisco's monthlong same-sex wedding march.
"Today the California Supreme Court took a giant leap to ensure that everybody -- not just in the state of California, but throughout the country -- will have equal treatment under the law," said City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who argued the case for San Francisco.
For the rest of the text of the decision, see: http://wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Cagaymarriage20080515.pdf
Here’s the reaction from Fischer, Executive Director of the Idaho Values Alliance:
"This is another example of how the homosexual lobby uses judicial activism to get what they can't get any other way.
"In Idaho, we elevated protection for marriage into our state constitution in 2006 just to make sure that marriage couldn't be co-opted by activist judges, and today's California ruling gives us another reason to celebrate that victory.
"Since homosexual couples in California already can get the same legal rights as married couples just by registering as domestic partners, this reveals that the real agenda of homosexual activists is not just equal rights but equal recognition - they want society to give its full endorsement and approval to same-sex relationships and treat them as the moral, legal and even linguistic equivalent of natural marriage.. This is something that no society which cares about children and the family can afford to do."