CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN "SAMES-SEX MARRIAGE"

On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage saying sexual orientation, like race or gender, "does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights."

In a 4-3 ruling, which took effect on June 16, 2008, Chief Justice Ronald George wrote for the majority stating that "the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee the basic civil right [to form a basic family relationship] to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples."

Shannon Minter, attorney for one of the plaintiffs in the case, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, called the ruling "a moment of pure happiness and joy for so many families in California."

"California sets the tone, and this will have a huge effect across the nation to bringing wider acceptance for gay and lesbian couples," he said.

Groups opposing same-sex marriage also reacted strongly to the ruling.

"The California Supreme Court has engaged in the worst kind of judicial activism today, abandoning its role as an objective interpreter of the law and instead legislating from the bench," said Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues for the group Concerned Women for America, in a written statement.

In a dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Marvin Baxter wrote that although he agrees with some of the majority's conclusions, the court was overstepping its bounds in striking down the ban. Instead, he wrote, the issue should be left to the voters.

The issue, in fact, is left to the voters with Proposition 8, a proposed constitutional amendment titled Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry Act, whose proponents intend to override the Court's decision. If passed, the proposition would change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.

A new section would be added stating "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. The measure will appear on the 2008 California general election ballot this November.