The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that previous state laws banning same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement respecting the court’s decision, and will honor a previous promise to let the decision be the final say in the issue. Schwarzenegger has vetoed two legislation items seeking to legalize same-sex marriage in the past, reasoning that the issue should be decided by voters or the courts.
“I respect the court’s decision and as governor, I will uphold its ruling,” he said.
The court offered many reasons for its decision, citing that allowing same-sex couples the right to wed will not deprive opposite-sex couples any rights or privileges and therefore is not necessary to afford them full protection. In contrast, upholding the same-sex ban would “impose appreciable harm on same-sex couples and their children.” Upholding the ban would also create the image of “an official view that their committed relationships are of lesser stature than the comparable relationships of opposite-sex couples.” Lastly, the court concluded that barring same-sex marriage would continue the impression that same-sex couples are in some way “second-class citizens.”
“Under these circumstances,” the 176-page decision reads, “We cannot find that retention of the traditional definition of marriage constitutes a compelling state interest. Accordingly, we conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional.”
Opponents of the decision, however, are ready to take the issue to the polls in November, where they hope to place a measure on the ballot that would write into the California Constitution a recognition of marriage solely as the union between a man and a woman.
The Supreme Court decision and apparent backlash comes just before the beginning of Long Beach’s 25th Annual Pride Festival and Parade, which will begin tonight with the Pink Party fundraiser at Smooth’s Bar & Grill. Read Robert Garcia’s column about the event here. Saturday will feature a day-long festival and celebration with more than 20 live acts on seven stages, and Sunday will have more of the same plus the weekend’s main event – a parade beginning at 10:30am. Read the complete schedule and more information here.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor
Disclosure: Smooth’s is an advertiser of the lbpost.com