WOOOT!!!!!! Yay California!

[orichalcum]

About 4 million gays and lesbians can now get married if they wish in California or Massachusetts, and probably more than 10% of the U.S. gay and lesbian population, although I don't have good figures on that.

Yay for the California Supreme Court!

"We . . . conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples."

Now, this is going to face a big old challenge in November, so yay me for getting to vote in CA - I'll be working the streets getting everyone in the Bay to turn out on this one.

But I get to move to a state where I don't need to feel guilty about the privileges I have because I married someone of the opposite gender.

It's a day of justice and celebration. I bet the streets of San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and well..a whole lot of the coast are going to be a darn cool party.

And hey, my ankle is practically a Pride Parade all by itself today, so I'm celebrating in sympathy.

I will admit to a teensy bit of worry about backlash in the Presidential election a la '04, and a lot of curiosity about Obama's response.

Comments

[ladybird97.livejournal.com]

YAY CALIFORNIA!

I hope it sticks, and I'm glad that you'll be there to work to keep it in place!

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

Yay!
I hope it survives November. How does the governor feel about it? Because sometimes I think it's possible that the election of a more pro-gay marriage governor here did a lot to squash the opposition's enthusiasm.

[orichalcum.livejournal.com]

He's very wishy-washy - wouldn't sign the bill before the legislature - which would have made this all A Lot Simpler - but won't support the initiative either. Basically, I suspect personally in favor but unwilling to anger Republican constituents.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Here's the statement the Governator's office released just after the ruling:

From http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7vLK0.YYMho&refer=home:

``I respect the court's decision and as governor, I will uphold its ruling,'' said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, in a statement. ``As I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state supreme court ruling.''

[orichalcum.livejournal.com]

Which is good, although still annoying that he wasn't willing to help when it was before the legislature.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

My thinking is that he didn't want to expend political capital on the bill when it was clear that even if he signed the bill there was going to be a fight over a ballot proposition to overturn.

This way he gets to add the "I respect the court's decision" argument to his position.

It's tactics, I think.

[pantsie.livejournal.com]

Thrilling! Awesome! Yay!!!!

*does a happy somersault*

[orichalcum.livejournal.com]

Yep. I'm guessing the Massachusetts Tourism Board may be a bit bummed today, though...

[pantsie.livejournal.com]

Very true, although we can still call ourselves the home of the constitutional interpretation pioneers! Or something. :)

[orichalcum.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but given the choice between San Diego and Provincetown, I know where I'd plan a summer wedding...opinions may differ, of course.

But yes, MA always gets to be first, and it should be proud of that.

[cerridwynn.livejournal.com]

That's awesome news!!!

Hooray California!

[meepodeekin.livejournal.com]

Woot! 2 down, 48 to go...

[cerebralpaladin.livejournal.com]

I've been looking for polling data on CA to figure out how November is likely to go on the initiative; has anyone else seen anything?

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Here's an article:

http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/03/california_fiel.html

referencing this report:

http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2223.pdf

"According to Lewis’s and Gossett’s analysis which looked at Field Poll surveys conducted between
the period 1985-2006, cohort replacement explains about two-thirds of the increased support for
same-sex marriage in California since 1985 and all the increased support since 1997. Most of the
rest is derived from changes in Californians’ own personal attitudes toward homosexuality. For
example, a 2006 Field Poll found that nearly half (45%) of Californians say they have become more
accepting of homosexual relations since they were a young adult, while 9% say they have become
less accepting."

[cerebralpaladin.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that was exactly what I was looking for. The data's a little stale (last info from 2/2006), but still informative. It looks like it will be very close.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Sure, no problem. And given the decision, I'm sure there will be more polling.

[ellinor.livejournal.com]

I am particularly proud of this, having been personally involved in the case, even if my role in it was to contribute an argument that was not adopted by the court. You can imagine what it's like around the firm right now.

:)

[orichalcum.livejournal.com]

Ah...I replied to your earlier comment. Yes, please, bask in the glory. I'd buy you a drink if I was within a thousand miles. :)

[jab2.livejournal.com]

only a teensy bit of worry? me, i'm wondering if they planned the timing to boost the republicans in november, since they weren't winning their own races...

[cerebralpaladin.livejournal.com]

If they'd wanted to do that, they would have sat on it longer. I think the timing was dominated by issues of "when we have it done." (I don't know the specifics of how the California Supreme Court handles when decisions are made. Some courts have an implicit "all cases get decided by June of the year they're argued in" schedule, like the U.S. Supreme Court; others (most) just issue decisions on a rolling basis as they get finished. Don't know how the CA Supreme Court does it.)

Obviously, there is a real concern about electoral backlash, both in terms of the ballot initiative and nation-wide. But over time, the backlash is becoming weaker, and it's only by beating it that we make it go away. So on a political side of things, I'm guardedly optomistic.