California Supreme Court Okays Marriage Equality, But Will It Stand?
Breaking news out of California today. The state's Supreme Court just issued a ruling to a legal case dating back to 2004 regarding the rights of same-sex couples to marry. In its 4-3 ruling, the court found that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates the "fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship," according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The ruling will take effect in 30 days, and courthouses are anticipating a flood of marriage applications from same-sex couples.
This ruling may not be the end of the issue, however. According to the article, conservative religious organizations have submitted more than 1.1 million signatures to a petition to get a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on the ballot for this November's election. If at least 694,354 of the signatures are valid then the question will be put before the voters this fall. Being so close to Massachusetts, this whole sequence of events seems eerily familiar.
At least for the time being, though, California will join our neighbor to the south in honoring marriage equality for all of its citizens. It will also join several states, including New Hampshire, in recognizing equal rights for its gay and lesbian citizens when it comes to marriage. It's a great step forward, and I hope that it is allowed to stand. While it is certainly still a controversial issue, we need only look around New England to realize that granting equal rights to same-sex couples doesn't really change things all that much. It just gives same-sex couples the same dignity and rights as their heterosexual peers.
Going back to California, the ruling puts Gov. Schwarzennegar in a tricky position. When the state's legislature passed equal marriage legislation on two separate occasions, Schwarzennegar said it was an issue that was best left to the courts when vetoing the measures. Now that the court has ruled in favor of marriage equality, let's hope that the governor keeps his previous word on the subject.
No matter what shakes out in California, though, it's likely this ruling will make same-sex marriage an issue again in this fall's election. Hopefully it will not be used as a wedge issue per usual, but I think that's wishful thinking. Let's just hope that the most pressing issues facing the country, like the economy, the war in Iraq, the environment, and healthcare are given most of the national focus. I'd rather see a president elected based on their ideas on those issues, rather than wedge issues simply meant to divide the electorate.
