Leaders Discuss Marriage Ruling at L.A. Press Conference

The sun was hot and the mood was joyous, if cautious, in the Golden State's largest city following the state supreme court's decision overturning California's ban on same-sex marriage.

At a press conference at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center's Ed Gould Plaza in Hollywood, leaders, lawyers, and elected officials spoke -- including Los Angeles's influential mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa. He not only expressed his happiness but promised his support.

"The California supreme court, 60 years after deciding that you couldn't discriminate in marriage based on race, is now leading the way once again by saying same-sex couples can marry," the Democratic mayor said. "That it's a fundamental right of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I will campaign with you, I will make sure we do everything within our power to make sure this decision remains the law of the land. In that vein, I plan to marry as many people as I can."

The center's CEO, Lorri Jean, also gave a stirring speech, including a warning that the battle for California marriage equality is far from over because of the right-wing effort to amend the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Signatures have already been gathered that could put the decision to voters in November. After her speech, Jean spoke to The Advocate about fighting the amendment.

"We'll know in late June [whether the signatures are valid and the initiative can be placed on the ballot]," she said. "But we can't wait that long, so Equality for All [a group fighting the amendment] is mobilized. We have a campaign structure in place, we have a campaign manager, a media team, an Internet team, a fund-raiser, and, most impressively, a statewide coalition that includes a lot of national players of LGBT groups, of other civil rights groups -- communities of color are represented, religious groups are well-represented. We're going to fight this thing; we're celebrating today, but tomorrow we're preparing for battle."

Jean downplayed the marriage decision's effect on the presidential election: "I think all the candidates are going to be asked about this case. Most of them have said this should be a states' rights matter, so I'm expecting at least the Democrats will say this is California's right. John McCain, if he's going to be a true Republican, should say the same thing."

Jean said she believes the Republicans will try to use California's decision as a wedge issue but that it doesn't "have the potency it used to have."

Representatives from Lambda Legal, the LGBT legal group that helped win In Re: Marriage, the case that legalized same-sex marriage in California, were also in attendance. Jon Davidson, legal director for Lambda, said his group is now focusing on winning marriage equality in other states like Connecticut, Iowa, and New Jersey, as well as fighting the effort to amend the California constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

"We're going to have to fight like hell," Davidson told The Advocate. "This is going to be one of the all-time battles for the lesbian/gay community ever. [The marriage equality opponents] have already submitted the signatures, and we're waiting to see if they qualify. They're going to be emboldened; they said they're going to spend more than $10 million. Most of that money is from out-of-state, pouring in here to change our constitution."

Davidson said he was not sure what effect the antigay amendment, if passed, would have on Thursday's California supreme court decision.

Bruce Carr and Ron Longo, a couple from Sierra Madre, Calif., were on hand at the press conference. They were married three and a half years ago in Vancouver, Canada, and were jubilant that their home state had finally granted marriage equality, which should go into effect in 30 days.

"It's elation," said Carr. "It's a release." Said Longo, "I am so proud right now to be a Californian. The supreme court came down on the side of fairness and equality. It's an amazing day for civil rights, equal rights. We hope this sets off a ripple effect." (Neal Broverman and Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)