The California
supreme court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving
the way for California to become the second state where gay
and lesbian residents can marry. The case involved a
series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a
voter-approved law that defines marriage as a union between
a man and a woman. With the ruling, California could
become the second state after Massachusetts where gay
and lesbian residents can marry.
This morning the
California state supreme court issued its decision on
the same-sex marriage case, and the majority held that
laws excluding gay and lesbian couples from the right
to marry are unconstitutional. The decision paves the
way for California to become the second state in
which gay and lesbian residents can marry.
The case involved
a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a
voter-approved law that defines marriage as a union between
a man and a woman.
''This is a
landmark and historic day," said Kate Kendell, executive
director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. "We are
grateful that the court upheld the most precious and
cherished values of fairness, opportunity, and, most
basically, the fundamental right to marry the person
you love.''
California
already offers domestic partnerships that offer
virtually the same state-level legal rights and
responsibilities as married spouses, including the
right to divorce and to sue for child support.
A coalition of
religious and social conservative groups is attempting to
put a measure on the November ballot that would enshrine
California's current laws banning gay marriage in the
state constitution. It's unclear what impact today's
decision will have on that initiative. The secretary
of state is expected to rule by the end of June whether the
sponsors gathered enough signatures to qualify the
marriage amendment, similar to ones enacted in 26
other states.
The cases before
the California court were brought by the city of San
Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples, Equality
California, and another gay rights group in March 2004
after the court halted San Francisco's month-long
same-sex wedding march that took place at Mayor Gavin
Newsom's direction. (AP, with additional reporting by The
Advocate)
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