Same-Sex Marriages Begin in California

The California Supreme Court did not stay its opinion in In re Marriage Cases in which it held in a 4-3 opinion that two state laws that had limited marriages to opposite-sex partners are unconstititional and held that single-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. The court explained that it could not “find that retention of the traditional definition of marriage constitutes a compelling state interest.”

Yesterday (June 16, 2008) at 5:01 p.m. PST, the first same-sex wedding took place.  Here are some details from Wedding bells chime for California same-sex couples, CNN.com, June 16, 2008:

Lesbian rights activists Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84, were the first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in San Francisco on Monday, with Mayor Gavin Newsom presiding over their wedding ceremony. * * *

Clerks expect a much larger number of couples to show up Tuesday [June 17, 2008] morning to complete marriage-license applications that replace “Bride” and “Groom” with “Partner A” and “Partner B.” * * *

Opponents say they’ve collected enough signatures to call for a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and woman. The California secretary of state must verify the signatures before a November vote can be held on the proposed amendment.