California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8, but validates 18,000 marriages performed last year

By Deborah Blaine
LOS ANGELES - Tuesday’s ruling can be better understood by looking first at the history of the struggle for gay civil rights in California. The issue first gained national attention in 2004 when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued a directive to provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On February 12th of that year thousands of same sex couples flooded into San Francisco City Hall to obtain the certificates, but the California Supreme Court later nullified the unions, saying the city lacked that authority without a ruling from the court.

On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court issued the landmark decision which found that the state could prove no compelling interest in denying marriage. In the 4 to 3 ruling, Chief Justice Ronald M. George said the decision was based on the California court’s historic decision in 1948 to end the state’s prohibition on interracial marriage, nearly 20 years before the U.S. Supreme Court took the same action.

“Marriage is a “basic civil right” guaranteed to all Californians, wrote George in the 121-page ruling; “an individual’s sexual orientation - like a person’s race or gender - does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.”

Some 18,000 same-sex couples married while conservative religious groups and politicians - collected signatures for the Nov. 4 ballot measure which became known as Proposition 8. Approved by 52 percent of voters, the measure overturned the judges’ decision and put an end to same-sex marriages.

Lawsuits challenging Proposition 8 were filed by two groups of same-sex couples and by local governments led by the city of San Francisco, which were then joined by civil rights and feminist organizations. A central question the court faced was whether Proposition 8 amounted to a violation of human rights or fell within the limits of people’s power to change the state’s Constitution. Another question at stake: Did Proposition 8 amount to an amendment or a revision of the state Constitution.

The California Supreme Court’s split 6-1 decision today ruled that Proposition 8, the narrowly approved measure which eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry, is valid. As a result of the court’s decision , California becomes the first state in the nation to strip away marriage rights for same-sex couples.

One bright note for LGBT advocates was Justice Moreno’s dissent: “I realize, of course, that the right of gays and lesbians to marry in this state has only lately been recognized. But that belated recognition does not make the protection of those rights less important. Rather, that the right has only recently been acknowledged reflects an age-old prejudice that makes the safeguarding of that right by the judiciary all the more critical.”

The Human Rights Campaign, the Nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization issued the following statement: “Today’s ruling is a huge blow to Americans everywhere who care about equality. The court has allowed a bare majority of voters to write same-sex couples out of basic constitutional protections,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “This ruling is painful, but it represents a temporary setback. There will be a groundswell to restore marriage equality in our nation’s largest state, and HRC will not give up until marriage equality is restored in California.”

“This ruling couldn’t be more out of step with what’s happening across the country,” said Solmonese, pointing to recent marriage victories in Iowa, Vermont and Maine. “We have no choice but to return this basic question of fairness for the estimated 1 million LGBT Californians back to the voters.”

So that’s the back-story and that’s the news of the day….But at the end of the day I say to you the real story is simply this: it’s about Love and Equality. And when states and individuals can understand this, when the Federal government can understand this we will be a better country.

For this is America, and I will always have Hope for a better tomorrow.