Thursday, August 5, 2010

We Interrupt This Blog...

...to celebrate the fact the California Supreme Court just ruled Proposition 8, the referendum banning same-sex marriage, unconstitutional!

According to the New York Times, the judge wrote in his decision, “Proposition 8 cannot withstand any level of scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause. Excluding same-sex couples from marriage is simply not rationally related to a legitimate state interest.”

Of course those of us who support gay marriage knew this all along. But it's heartening to see the law agree.

Unfortunately, this decision does not immediately allow gays and lesbians in California to marry. Apparently the judge has issued an injunction pending the expected appeal by the losing side. However, the decision is critically important because it clearly identifies same-sex marriage as a constitutional issue. It will become increasingly difficult for opponents of same-sex unions to make argument based on "tradition" or "common understanding" or even "dangers to society".

Nearly two years ago I contributed my F/F story "Making Memory" to the charitable anthology I Do. Proceeds from that volume benefited the Lambda Legal Fund, one of the organizations backing the Prop 8 challenge. I'm proud to think that I might have had even a little influence on this glad decision.

The fight is not over. Both side expect this decision to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The stakes are higher than ever. If you want to do your part for this cause, you might consider buying a copy of I Do yourself. (It's a really good book, by the way, especially if you're a fan of M/M romance!)

4 comments:

*yadkny* said...

So there's some good news/ somewhat bad news to this blog post, but at least to me it's a step forward instead of back (no matter how small). I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end:)

yadkny@hotmail.com

Lisabet Sarai said...

Yes. What's really exciting is that this decision sets a precedent that will be very difficult for other courts to ignore.

Thanks for your comments!

Gabby said...

Well at least we're making some headway with this issue! That's always a good thing!

Tamsyn said...

Couples are couples regardless of whether they are same sex or not. This decision is a milestone which I hope will pave the way for others.

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