The California Supreme Court upheld a constitutional amendment today banning same-sex marriage despite claims from gay marriage advocates that taking away such a fundamental right requires more than a simple majority at the ballot box.
The court ruled 6-1 to uphold the ban, with Justice Carlos Moreno as the only dissenting vote.
The court also unanimously agreed that the thousands of marriages performed while same-sex marriage was legal in California are valid.
On Feb. 12, 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom defied the law and authorized the County Clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. The decision was validated in May, 2008, when the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to get married.
The landmark decision became a model across the nation where same-sex marriage issues have been decided through the courts. The California Supreme Court, for instance, was the first to consider sexual orientation as a protected class.
But the November passage of Proposition 8 by 52 percent of California voters overturned that decision. The state constitution now defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Much has changed since then. California and Massachusetts were the only states to permit same-sex marriage before November. Since then, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and Maine have legalized it, and politicians in New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire are considering laws of their own.
