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 Calif. Supreme Court Hears Gay Marriage Case
Next Week
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: February 26, 2008 - 5:00 pm ET
(San Francisco, California) With one week to go
until the California Supreme Court hears arguments for and against same-sex
marriage gay and lesbian couples throughout the state are making plans to attend
the landmark hearing.
The court has scheduled three hours for oral
arguments on March 4. The justices then have
90 days to issue a ruling. If the case is successful it would make California
the second state in the nation to allow same-sex couples to legally marry and
likely lead to a rush for June weddings.
The case dates back to 2004 when San Francisco
mayor Gavin Newsom began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Some 8,000 couples exchanged vows before the state Supreme Court ruled Newsom
had acted illegally.
The court nullified the marriages but said its
ruling dealt only with Newsom's actions. The justices said at the time the
question of whether barring same-sex couples from marrying violated the state's
equal protection clause of its constitution was a separate matter.
Legal challenges on the constitutional question
were begun almost immediately. Three separate suits ultimately were wrapped
together into a single case.
In March 2005 a Superior Court judge in San
Francisco ruled that the law denying same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
"It appears that no rational purpose exists
for limiting marriage in this state to opposite-sex partners," County
Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer said in a written ruling. (story)
In striking down the state ban on same-sex
marriage Kramer wrote that the state's historical definition of marriage, by
itself, cannot justify the denial of equal protection for gays and lesbians.
Kramer stayed his ruling while the state
appealed.
In October, 2006, the California Court of Appeal
in a split decision overturned Kramer's ruling.
"The time may come when California chooses
to expand the definition of marriage to encompass same-sex unions. That change
must come from democratic processes, however, not by judicial fiat," the
Appeals Court ruling said. (story)
In a dissent, Justice Anthony Kline wrote,
"[T]he inescapable effect of the analysis the majority adopts is to
diminish the humanity of the lesbian and gay men whose rights are defeated. The
right to marry is of fundamental important for all individuals."
The California legislature twice passed
legislation that would permit same-sex couples to marry but both times Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bills. (story)
©365Gay.com 2008
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