Top California court overturns same-sex marriage ban

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

California's Supreme Court declared that same-sex couples in the nation's biggest state can marry — a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony.

Same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. But the window could close soon after — religious and social conservatives are pressing to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.

And

James Dobson — chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, which has spent thousands of dollars to get the measure on the ballot — called the ruling an outrage.

"It will be up to the people of California to preserve traditional marriage by passing a constitutional amendment. ... Only then can they protect themselves from this latest example of judicial tyranny," he said in an e-mailed statement.

In its 4-3 ruling, the Republican-dominated high court struck down state laws against same-sex marriage and said domestic partnerships that provide many of the rights and benefits of matrimony are not enough.

"In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," Chief Justice Ronald George wrote for the majority in ringing language that delighted gay rights activists.

Massachusetts in 2004 became the first, and so far only, state to legalize gay marriage; more than 9,500 couples have taken advantage of the law. But the California ruling is considered monumental by virtue of the state's size — 38 million out of a U.S. population of 302 million — and its historical role as the vanguard of many social and cultural changes that have swept the country since World War II.

Click here for the rest.

While I'm very happy with such a common sense decision in favor of expanding civil rights, I have to admit that I'm enjoying much more the howls of indignation emanating from the social wing of conservatism. Heh, heh, heh. That's what you motherfuckers get: boys with boys and girls with girls, wedded in blissful matrimony.

As the article observes, this ain't over yet, but I wonder if it's more difficult to amend the constitution in California than it is to simply pass a law. In Texas, constitutional amendments seem to be on pretty much every ballot, but the land of fruits and nuts just isn't Texas, which is just how things ought to be. At any rate, the right wing on the left coast faces something of an uphill battle: Governor Terminator supports gay marriage, so I'm assuming he won't be helping the gay-haters out much.

And really when you get right down to it, gay marriage should be legalized in all fifty states for first amendment reasons. That is, the philosophical framework behind opposing gay marriage is most definitely religious in nature. Bogus secular arguments that gay marriage will somehow "subvert the institution" are full of shit. In no way will boy/boy girl/girl weddings affect hetero marriage. It's just as simple as that. No change. I've asked quite a few conservatives to explain it to me, but they always just kind of flap their gums.

"Man on dog," indeed.

Mark my words, gay marriage will be fully legal in these United States, sooner than later. It's only a matter of time, and we're currently watching the grains in the hourglass move into overdrive.

Heh, heh, heh. I love this.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$