As conventional wisdom anticipated and equal rights advocates dreaded, the California Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 8 in a 6-1 ruling. Gay marriages entered into since the Court's previous decision last May and Nov. 4 (when Prop. 8 prohibiting such marriages passed) remain legal, the ruling said.
Only Associate Justice Carlos Moreno dissented, arguing that the initiative was an unconstitutional revision.
The Court's previous 4-3 majority ruling had said in re Marriage Cases [consolidated]:
After carefully evaluating the pertinent considerations in the present case, we conclude that the state interest in limiting the designation of marriage exclusively to opposite-sex couples, and in excluding same-sex couples from access to that designation, cannot properly be considered a compelling state interest for equal protection purposes.
[I]t is readily apparent that extending the designation of marriage to same-sex couples clearly is more consistent with the probable legislative intent than withholding that designation from both opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples in favor of some other, uniform designation. In view of the lengthy history of the use of the term "marriage" to describe the family relationship here at issue, and the importance that both the supporters of the 1977 amendment to the marriage statutes and the electors who voted in favor of Proposition 22 unquestionably attached to the designation of marriage, there can be no doubt that extending the designation of marriage to same-sex couples, rather than denying it to all couples, is the equal protection remedy that is most consistent with our state’s general legislative policy and preference.
Equal protection no longer counts.
The diary Proposition 8: We've been robbed! by ElsieElsie is worth your time.
In the short term, the bigots have succeeded to an extent -- they have robbed us of some of the joy of the early days of marriage. I have never known such stress. They have succeeded in causing the world to question the value of our love and of us as people. They have succeeded in harrassing thousands of people -- and in reminding the world just how hateful they are.
But they cannot take US away from each other, and they have assured that we are far more committed to one another than they are to hating us. We value our marriage, indeed the institution itself, more than they do.
Tasini argues that the fight going forward should be based on The Dallas Principles.
Want to make your complaints about this decision publicly known? You can join actions listed at this Day of Decision site. Here is the group's Facebook page.
UPDATE: Getting to the Supreme Court's ruling on its Web site is difficult, to say the least, at the moment. trumpeter has provided this analysis from the Judicial Council.
Update: Click here for a PDF of the full decision. Susan.