California Supreme Court Upholds Proposition 8

Many of the arguments against the Proposition were that there are certain inalienable rights for people, and that California's complex initiative process should not be allowed to take away such rights, particularly when only 52% of eligible voters, and only 52% of of those voted in favor of the proposition.

However, as legal analysts indicated on local radio stations just after the decision was announced at 10AM PDT, while allowing those marriages that took place prior to the election to stand is only just, this now creates two classes of gay couples: those who were "fast enough" to get married before Proposition 8 was enacted, and those who were not. It also suggests that gay marriage is OK for those who were quick, and not for those who were not.

So, at the same time that allowing the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed to stand is a just ruling, it also creates inequality, according to the analysts, and opens the door for federal appeals.

As such, there are two possibilities: a move to federal court, which is likely, and a further inititiave which would repeal Proposition 8. If another proposition is used to repeal Proposition 8, this would possibly result in a ping-pong effect, as you could definitely see another "Proposition 8" being used later to re-enact Proposition 8.

Additionally, the ruling, as read by an analyst on SF Bay Area local radio station KQED-FM, reaffirms that sexual orientation will continue to receive the strongest constitutional protection possible. The ruling seems to state that only the word "marriage" is banned, but that all other rights given to married couples will hold as well for domestic partnerships.

The California Supreme Court is the only state supreme court in the nation to have raised sexual orientation to the status of race and gender in weighing discrimination claims.

Calif. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a statement saying he will abide by the Calif. Supreme Court's ruling, but adding that he favors same-sex marriage and that it will be legalized someday through an initiative or the courts.

Spokesman Aaron McLear said:

"He voted no on Prop. 8. He supports the idea of giving same-sex couples the right to marry. I think he was hoping it would go the other way."