Existing
Marriages May Still Be Legal if Prop. 8 Passes

California is still counting upward of four million absentee and provisional ballots to determine the outcome of Proposition 8, but marriages performed over the past five months may still be honored if it passes.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown said that the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California between June 16 and November 4 will still be recognized as marriages.

"I believe that marriages that have been entered into subsequent to the May 15 Supreme Court opinion will be recognized by the California Supreme Court," Brown told the San Francisco Chronicle in August. He also said that the outcome of Proposition 8 would likely only apply to future marriages.

The ballot initiative's language does not mention revoking marriage recognition from those couples. The National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal warn, however, that Proposition 8 proponents might file a lawsuit to invalidate those marriages. (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)