Category: gay, marriage
05/15/08 01:58 - ID#44349
Marriage Equality
From the opinion:
Third, because of the widespread disparagement that gay individuals historically have faced, it is all the more probable that excluding same-sex couples from the legal institution of marriage is likely to be viewed as reflecting an official view that their committed relationships are of lesser stature than the comparable relationships of opposite-sex couples. Finally, retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite-sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise -- now emphatically rejected by this state -- that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects "second-class citizens" who may, under the law, be treated differently from, and less favorably than, heterosexual individuals or opposite-sex couples. Under these circumstances, we cannot find that retention of the traditional definition of marriage constitutes a compelling state interest. Accordingly, we conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional.
I am so happy I could cry.
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Go ahead and talk about us like we aren't even here... geez.
Jenks: That is exactly why this decision is so historic. Cali already had a domestic partnership program that mirrored marriage almost exactly as far as civil rights are concerned. But this decision said that the name is just as important as the rights themselves. It harks back to Brown vs. Board of Ed. 2 where Plessy V Ferguson's "separate but equal" nonsense was smacked down; in this case, two unequal institutions.
This is big news.
good news, in any case.
(e:strip) is so google friendly. I wonder how long it is before someone googles "homosexual marriage" and finds my picture.