California Supreme Court Ready for Marriage Case on March 4

[Ian David]

February 26, 2008


California Supremes Ready for Marriage Case on March 4: The California same-sex marriage case will be heard by the state Supreme Court on March 4. The justices will then have 90 days to issue their ruling. The case is a consolidation of several lawsuits challenging state law that limits marriage to opposite-sex couples. Plaintiffs include the city of San Francisco, Equality California and same-sex couples.

In 2005 and 2007, the state Legislature passed bills to legalize same-sex marriage, the only times any U.S. legislature has done so. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed both bills. California has a domestic-partnership law that grants registered gay couples all state-level rights and obligations of marriage, but the plaintiffs view domestic partnership as a separate and not-fully-equal institution.

Meanwhile, anti-gay activists are collecting voter signatures to try to put initiatives on the November ballot that would amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage or both amend the constitution and undo the domestic-partnership law.

A constitutional amendment would trump laws passed by the Legislature and, amendment proponents believe, override any state court rulings legalizing same-sex marriage.

More:
http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/02/california-supremes-ready-for-marriage.html

[xchrom]

1. it's time for california to do the right thing by ALL of it's tax paying citizens.

[BR_Parkway]

2. So if a state passed an amendment banning mixed race marriage

they think that it would retroactively nullify all those too?

[moose65]

3. that's an interesting question....

But, I suppose since the Supreme Court has ruled on interracial marriage, a state CANT pass a law or amendment outlawing it. The Supreme Court (and the US constitution) trumps state constitutions. But it's an interesting idea. I'm sure that many states still have laws on the books and amendments to their constitutions that have been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

[LeftCoast]

4. Here's the deal. The ruling on this will come before the Nov election.

I don't want to jinx the case, but I think there is a good possibility that the CA SC will find for marriage equality. I think the amendment is how they're going to try and entice the rightwingers to the polls this Nov.