Mother Talkers

CA Supreme Court Overturns Ban On Same Sex Marriage

by pat of butter in a sea of grits

Thu May 15, 2008 at 10:36:25 AM PDT

LA Times story

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex couples should be permitted to marry, rejecting state marriage laws as discriminatory.

The state high court's ruling was unlikely to end the debate over gay matrimony in California. A group has circulated petitions for a November ballot initiative that would amend the state Constitution to block same-sex marriage, and the Legislature has twice passed bills to authorize gay marriage. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed both.

More at the link.

I'm thrilled to hear this news as we have several friends who were married in San Francisco during the brief period when Gavin Newsom allowed same sex couples to be married.  Some of them have children with their partners.

Today's ruling by the Republican-dominated court affects more than 100,000 same-sex couples in the state, about a quarter of whom have children, according to U.S. census figures.

I think it is ridiculous that they can form a family but not be allowed to be married, so I'm really happy to hear this news.  

Tags: same sex marriage, California, Supreme Court (all tags)

Permalink | 10 comments

  • Yay! (0 / 0)

    This seems to so common sense to me! Aren't Repubs supposed to be all "No gov't interference in our lives" etc. What could be more interfering than preventing two people from getting married???

    by Suzanne77 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 11:33:15 AM PDT

    • There's a line in The West Wing (0 / 0)

      ...where Sam (I think) accuses a Republican Congressman of wanting to "make government just small enough to fit in everyone's bedrooms".  Describes it pretty well.

      by Annora on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:20:23 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • Schwarzenegger (0 / 0)

    A few additional notes: Gov. Schwarzenegger said today "I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."

    If this ruling does not get voided by a successful ballot to amend the state constitution, however, it could have ramifications beyond California. Unlike Massachusetts, the other state where same-sex couples can marry, California has no rule against out-of-state couples marrying there, even if such marriages would be illegal in their home states.

    --Dana
    Mombian: Sustenance for Lesbian Moms
    http://www.mombian.com

    by Dana on Thu May 15, 2008 at 12:05:28 PM PDT

  • my favorite line in the opinion (0 / 0)

    was "permitting same-sex couples access to the designation of marriage will not deprive opposite-sex couples of any rights and will not alter the legal framework of the institution of marriage."  I love how the court totally rejected the notion that opposite sex marriages are somehow threatened by allowing same-sex marriage.

    by Arden on Thu May 15, 2008 at 02:00:07 PM PDT

  • It's a great opinion (0 / 0)

    and strongly written.

    Now to see the reactions...

    by shenanigans on Thu May 15, 2008 at 02:30:24 PM PDT

  • Yay! (0 / 0)

    I'm thrilled, my mom is appalled!  She's already working on getting the ammendment worked out.  sheesh

    What do you mean, uh-oh? Toddler & baby pictures

    by round peg inna square hole on Thu May 15, 2008 at 03:39:41 PM PDT

    • Clearly, (0 / 0)

      your mom needs to get invited to some nice gay weddings.

      by lonespark on Thu May 15, 2008 at 03:42:57 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Send your mom this link :-) (0 / 0)

      From the Onion:

      http://www.theonion.com/...

      Let the obnoxious pressure begin!

      Gay Couple Feels Pressured To Marry

      DEDHAM, MA—Ever since last month, when Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex weddings, parents, friends, and coworkers have been pressuring Kristin Burton and her girlfriend Laura Miyatake to marry, the couple of 14 months said Monday.

      "As soon as the news coverage about gay marriage started, my mom called me up," said Burton, who works as a nursing-home administrator. "Of course, she didn't directly ask me when I was going to marry Laura. First, she asked how Laura and I were getting along, and how business was at Laura's shop. But then she reminded me about my dad's heart disease and told me that he could go at any time. When she started to talk about how nice it was at my brother's wedding, I told her I was late for my yoga class."

      by shenanigans on Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:58:08 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • have an email loop (0 / 0)

    I'm a part of, and  sent out a 5 line synopsis of this.  "Yay," I said.

    I was then contacted by the moderator not to broach sensitive topics that would upset some people.  No religion or poltics at all.

    What do you mean, uh-oh? Toddler & baby pictures

    by round peg inna square hole on Fri May 16, 2008 at 08:55:35 AM PDT

Permalink | 10 comments