Civic Alert

Exciting news out of California today! The California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. This overrules two state laws that had previously limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman. The state had twice voted to legalize same-sex marriage, but Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed it both times. However, the Governater said today that he respected the ruling and would not support an constitutional amendment to overturn it.

While the court “left open the possibility that the Legislature could use a term other than ‘marriage’ to denote state-sanctioned unions,” they could only do so if “that term was used across the board for opposite-sex and same-sex couples.”

“The right to marry,” Chief Justice George wrote, “represents the right of an individual to establish a legally recognized family with a person of one’s choice and, as such, is of fundamental significance both to society and to the individual.”

California is the second state to allow same-sex marriages, with Massachusetts being the first. Four states-Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire and New Jersey-allow civil unions.

I love the taste of progress.

California Court Affirms Right to Gay Marriage – [New York Times]