In a decision announced on May 26, 2009, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the California voter initiative that bans same-sex marriages. The Court held that the roughly 18,000 gay couples who married while same sex marriages were legal in California will not have their marriages invalidated as laws are generally not applied retroactively and there was no language in Prop 8 to vary the general rule in that regard.
The California Supreme Court had previously upheld same sex marriages in a decision in May, 2008. Same sex marriage opponents responded with a voter initiative, Proposition 8, to amend the state constitution to prohibit same sex marriages. The Court has now held the voter initiative did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the state constitution and that the Court was required to uphold California's initiative process.
California does have laws granting legal rights and protections for registered "domestic partners" and laws prohibiting discrimination based on marital status and sexual orientation.
Same sex marriage is presently legal in Iowa, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
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Interesting to note that a serial killer on death row has the "right" to marry but a law abiding homosexual does not have this same right.
ReplyDeleteSo why is it ok for these other 18,000 couples to stay married while we discriminate against new couples wanting the same thing. I know you can register as a "domestic partner" but it just seems hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteGood question Laura H and thanks for posting here. New laws typically are not applied retroactively. The Court held that the ban on same sex marriages also could not be applied retroactively. Thus, those who were married while same sex marriages were still legal in California will continue to have those marriages recognized. As an update, a challenge to Prop 8 has now been filed in federal court so the final chapter on this legal battle has not yet been written.
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