The California Supremes Affirm Same-Sex Marriage Rights: What You Need To Know About The Tenuous Nature Of That Decision

I'm here only for a flash.

What the state Supremes did today was great!

However, in 2000 more than 60% of California's electorate approved an amendment to the state Constitution defining marriage as a union between one man + one woman. In other words, eliminating gay people from the equation. Prop. 22 was also called "The Defense of Marriage Act."

Because these people never give up in their zealous need to deny rights to other folks, currently there is an initiative widely expected to qualify for the November 2008 ballot that would pretty much do the exact same thing as Prop 22:

1309. (07-0079)
Marriage. Elimination of Domestic Partnership Rights. Constitutional Amendment.
Summary Date: 12/27/07 Circulation Deadline: 05/27/08 Signatures Required: 694,354

Click, scroll, scroll some more, click again, and you can read the full text of that in-circulation ballot measure. Again, this is widely expected to quality for the November general election.

What it all means is this is not even close to being over. If the California Constitution is amended, it really doesn't matter what the California Supremes say.

So. If you *truly* care about this issue, once all the cheering over today's action is done you will have to hit the streets and do all you can to legally stop the next attempt to curtail fair dealings in marriage equity. If you don't live here you can reach out to educate any friends/family who are registered voters here and urge them to take action. You can start by going to Equality California, which is a coalition partner with Equality For All, and take action.

Here is a nice run-down of what we call The Marriage Case.

Here is Equality California's blog.

For the record...though California offers the broadest slate of rights and responsibilities to domestic partners of any state in the nation,*** there are over 1,000 federal rights granted to heterosexual married couples that our state laws can do nothing about. That doesn't mean you don't make the effort to do what you can for California LGBT who want to be married; just means you go into it with Eyes Open.

More, later.

*** Reminding me once again to look into the details of Massachusetts, which is what I always think when tossing around that statement.

Okay. Gone again.