CA Supreme Court - No Delay: Marriage equality to begin June 17

[Emproph]

California Supreme Court refuses to delay gay marriage
By Maura Dolan and Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
June 5, 2008

By rejecting petitions asking for reconsideration of the May 15 ruling, the court, in a 4-3 vote, removed the final obstacle to same-sex marriages starting June 17.

I'm thinking that these next four months are going to be VERY interesting.

[Emproph]

George Michael-Freedom! '90

Freedom.

Show me freedom boys and girls...

[Emproph]

Madonna - Vogue

[Alecto]

So, legally speaking, there's a thing about not making something retro-actively illegal, right?
So, even if the voter initiative thing goes through, would they have to preserve the state-level marriage rights granted starting in mid June? (Any legal experts? :-/)

[tdogg]

This is the newest issue to come into play Alecto. Interesting progress. Now the talk is about legal actions which will attempt to stop the initiative should it pass, on the face that it's unconstitutional. Next, constitutional amendments are never retroactive, so that would in effect mean marriages performed between June 17th and, if the initiative passes, the date it would be effective to remain legal.

So, initiative draws closer to dying, as polls show more and more people are supporting gay marriage. We aren't at 50% yet but it's really really close.

But, should the freaky thing happen and voters actually pass it, it may be stuck in limbo for some time and even eventually deemed to be unconstitutional, so never taking effect.

Or, even if it passes and takes effect, marriages performed prior may be considered legal as the amendment isn't slated to be retroactive.

[scott snedeker]

Originally Posted by tdogg

This is the newest issue to come into play Alecto. Interesting progress. Now the talk is about legal actions which will attempt to stop the initiative should it pass, on the face that it's unconstitutional. Next, constitutional amendments are never retroactive, so that would in effect mean marriages performed between June 17th and, if the initiative passes, the date it would be effective to remain legal.

So, initiative draws closer to dying, as polls show more and more people are supporting gay marriage. We aren't at 50% yet but it's really really close.

But, should the freaky thing happen and voters actually pass it, it may be stuck in limbo for some time and even eventually deemed to be unconstitutional, so never taking effect.

Or, even if it passes and takes effect, marriages performed prior may be considered legal as the amendment isn't slated to be retroactive.

Times are against them. Such an amendment is not only unjust it is chimerically impractical.

[Emproph]

Originally Posted by tdogg

This is the newest issue to come into play Alecto. Interesting progress. Now the talk is about legal actions which will attempt to stop the initiative should it pass, on the face that it's unconstitutional. Next, constitutional amendments are never retroactive, so that would in effect mean marriages performed between June 17th and, if the initiative passes, the date it would be effective to remain legal.

So, initiative draws closer to dying, as polls show more and more people are supporting gay marriage. We aren't at 50% yet but it's really really close.

But, should the freaky thing happen and voters actually pass it, it may be stuck in limbo for some time and even eventually deemed to be unconstitutional, so never taking effect.

Or, even if it passes and takes effect, marriages performed prior may be considered legal as the amendment isn't slated to be retroactive.

There's a lot to consider. First there's going to be a conservative backlash against the legalization of SSM. Expect their rhetoric to reach ever increasing levels of shrill to draw anti-gay voters to the polls.

Then if the amendment passes, and/or they nullify the marriages that were already performed, there will be a gay/liberal backlash -- which, being in California, I imagine would translate into more pro-LGBT shows and movies.

This has the potential to get real ugly.
--
The latest:

Calif. officials: Clerks can issue same-sex licenses sooner

SAN FRANCISCO - California officials say counties can begin using gender-neutral marriage licenses the minute after a state Supreme Court order legalizing same-sex marriage takes effect.

The state Office of Vital Records advised all 58 California counties Thursday that they can begin issuing the licenses June 16 at 5:01 p.m.

[tdogg]

Oh, June 16th now! There are those who have been waiting for this moment for so many years. They will flood the steps of courthouses everywhere, waiting to get through at exactly 5pm on the 16th. Many in this area will particularly choose the wonderful and loving clerk in Yolo County who says she will marry as many same sex couples as appear before her. She's been a champion for GLBT equality, making a stand even when opposed.

So, we are discussing getting married in September...

Either way, there will be a backlash, legal actions, etc. Sooner or later this will become a non-issue and GLBT people will be one step closer to full equality at all levels.

[Emproph]

[tdogg]

Tomorrow is the big day! Some county offices are staying open until 8pm, but not too many. SF will be open until 8pm. At 501pm tomorrow evening, 2 of GLBT's biggest heros will legally become wife & wife. Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin!!!

Congratulations and may you enjoy and treasure many more years together. Thank you ladies, from the bottom of my heart, for all that you have done t pave the way. Enjoy your wedding in beauty and love!!!

[tymejumper]

*party party party* Yeah its here!!!!!!

[Emproph]

Many 'live' videos here, some of them extensive (10-20 min).

http://cbs5.com/

That link should work for as long as it's the top story, but the following should work in the longer term.

http://cbs5.com/local/same.sex.marriages.2.749730.html
P.S.

[BruceChris]

"Hey, gay people should have the right to be married, so they can be as miserable as the rest of us." -- Unknown standup comedian.

P&L, BC

[Daniel]

Has found it's Voice in California!

Yes!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/us...hp&oref=slogin

Same-Sex Marriages Begin in California


By JESSE McKINLEY
Published: June 17, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO — With a series of simple “I dos,” gay couples across California inaugurated the state’s court-approved and potentially short-lived legalization of same-sex marriage on Monday, the first of what is expected to be a crush of such unions in coming weeks.

The weddings began in a handful of locations around the state at exactly 5:01 p.m., the earliest time allowed by last month’s decision by the California Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage. Many more ceremonies will be held on Tuesday when all 58 counties will be issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

In San Francisco, Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84, longtime gay rights activists, were the first and only couple to be wed here, saying their vows in the office of Mayor Gavin Newsom, before emerging to a throng of reporters and screaming well-wishers.

Ms. Martin and Ms. Lyon, who have been together for more than 50 years, seemed touched, if a little amazed by all the attention.

“When we first got together we weren’t thinking about getting married,” Ms. Lyon said before cutting a wedding cake. “I think it’s a wonderful day.”

Outside City Hall, several hundred supporters and protesters chanted, cheered and jeered in equal measure, giving an unruly carnival feel to the scene, complete with a marching band playing wedding songs and signs reading “Homo Sex is Sin.”

In Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco, Mayor Ron Dellums presided over more than a dozen marriages in the City Council chambers, which had been transformed into a de facto wedding chapel, with stands of flowers and a standing-room-only crowd.

In Sonoma County, the wine-rich region north of here, 18 couples were scheduled to be wed on Monday, including Chris Lechman, 37, and Mark Gren, 42, who called to book their nuptials shortly after the court’s decision.

“We’ve been on pins and needles,” said Mr. Lechman, who celebrated the 15th anniversary of meeting Mr. Gren on Monday. “We are thrilled to be part of history.”

Janice Atkinson, the Sonoma County clerk, said her office would stay open late for the rest of the month to accommodate what she expected would be a heavy load of same-sex weddings.

On Sunday, Ms. Atkinson and staff members were at a gay pride celebration in Sonoma handing out applications for marriage licenses to prospective newlyweds.

“We’re expecting some very happy couples,” she said. “And a lot of media.”

The selection of Ms. Martin and Ms. Lyon as San Francisco’s first same-sex couple was symbolic; the couple wed here in 2004, when the city broke state law by issuing more than 4,000 marriage licenses and conducting weddings in City Hall. Those marriages were later invalidated by the state Supreme Court.

On May 15, however, the same court struck down the two California laws that prohibited such unions, opening the door for California to becomes the second, and largest, American state to legalize same-sex marriage. Massachusetts did so in 2004, and more than 10,500 couples have wed there.

Same-sex marriage has been hotly contested nationwide and state by state in the courts and at the ballot box, and California is no exception.

Voters in the state will decide a ballot measure in November that would effectively overturn the court’s decision by defining marriage as “between a man and a woman.”

Forty-four states already have some sort of legal barrier — either a law or constitutional amendment — barring such unions. In 2004 alone, 13 states passed ballot measures banning same-sex marriage.

This year, however, supporters have found encouragement in both the California Supreme Court decision and in a subsequent order by Gov. David A. Paterson of New York to force his state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages from elsewhere. The California court has also rebuffed several challenges to its May 15 decision made by two conservative legal groups and Republican attorneys general who fear that the marriages will cause legal challenges to be brought in their own states.

One legal challenge was filed last week by the Liberty Counsel, a group based in Florida that wants the California Court of Appeal to halt the weddings to allow the State Legislature time to work out discrepancies in marriage law created by the state Supreme Court’s decision.

Mathew D. Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said Monday’s ceremonies “make a mockery of marriage.”

“Marriage has traditionally been known, across continents and all geographical regions, as between a man and a woman,” said Mr. Staver, who is 51 and married. “Marriage between the same sex may be some sort of union, but it’s certainly not marriage.”

There has also been some local opposition to the ceremonies. In rural Kern County, north of Los Angeles, the county clerk has canceled all weddings performed by her office, a position she took after consulting with the Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona legal group that argues against marriage for gay men and lesbians. Weddings at the county clerk’s office — long an affordable, no-frills option for couples — have also been called off in Butte County, north of Sacramento, the state capital.

In more liberal parts of the state, however, the weddings were being warmly embraced.

In Beverly Hills, Robin Tyler and Diane Olson also married, saying their vows under a chuppah on the steps of the city’s courthouse. The ceremony was solemnized by a rabbi, Denise Eger.

“Great floods cannot dampen your love,” Rabbi Eger said. “Your courage brought you here today.”

Carolyn Marshall contributed reporting from San Francisco and Oakland, and Rebecca Cathcart from Beverly Hills.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

A thousand times....

YES!

[Emproph]

Tip from Pam's House Blend.

Gay marriages begin as California ruling takes effect



No words.

[tdogg]

If you do a name search on SF Chronicle, at least yesterday the story was on the front page of the web site. You can click on the article and there will be pictures of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin's wedding. I dare you not to tear up - it's well worth the few minutes of time to check it out. They were pioneers in this movement, lesbian warriors, going where no girl had gone before. Taking risks, laying it all on the line. And now they get to celebrate.

The anti-gay forces are gearing up. They even dared to attempt to ruin the wedding above. But with so many more people who love this couple in attendance, it was far from ruined. Even some of the Phelps group was there, but nothing could deter the supporters.

Awesome!

[Daniel]

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/200...ARRIAGE_7.html

From the NYtimes website. And the major article is here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/us...rriage.html?hp

Hundreds of Gay Couples Wed in California


Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[shawneos]

I send best wishes and congratulations to our staff that is to be married today and tomorrow. You all deserve to have your love recognized in a legal way and I pray that you all live happily ever after, together.

As much as this is a monumental time for our state, it's personal for you and your spouse. God has blessed you with true love and cherish each other always with that love.

Peace and love to you all and to all who are married in the upcoming months.

Shawne

[tymejumper]

I was watching it all on the news tonight and I started to cry! I was startingt o cry at work cause the tv is on. I had one of my clients(whom I didnt know knew I was gay) ask if i was going to CA to get married. Then she said you deserve to be happy. That resulted in you guessed it, more tears!

[Jamie McDaniel]

Mel & Gary, Paige & Katy, and Jeff & Gary got married in California today.

www.soulforce.org/album/11

And go Captian Sulu & Brad!