州最高法院 原文 “California's highest court has refused to stay until the November election its ruling legalizing same sex marriage. Conservative religious groups and others opposed to the court ruling. They sought to have it put on hold pending the outcome of an initiative that will go on the ballot in November that would essentially override the court's decision. California supreme court in the recent ruling upheld the right of gays and lesbians to marry.“
California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban In a 4-3 decision, the justices rule that people have a fundamental 'right to marry' the person of their choice and that gender restrictions violate the state Constitution's equal protection guarantee By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 16, 2008 SAN FRANCISCO -- -- The California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage Thursday in a broadly worded decision that would invalidate virtually any law that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.
The 4-3 ruling declared that the state Constitution protects a fundamental "right to marry" that extends equally to same-sex couples. It tossed a highly emotional issue into the election year while opening the way for tens of thousands of gay people to wed in California, starting as early as mid-June.
Related Content Photos: Gay marriage ruling PDF: The rulingAfter disappointments, couple hopes for dignity and a ceremony Reaction to same-sex ruling Opponents of gay marriage see hope in ballot measure The majority opinion, by Chief Justice Ronald M. George, declared that any law that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation will from this point on be constitutionally suspect in California in the same way as laws that discriminate by race or gender, making the state's high court the first in the nation to adopt such a stringent standard.
The decision was a bold surprise from a moderately conservative, Republican-dominated court that legal scholars have long dubbed "cautious," and experts said it was likely to influence other courts around the country.
But the scope of the court's decision could be thrown into question by an initiative already heading toward the November ballot. The initiative would amend the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex unions.