The California Supreme Court has declined to stay its decision in In re: Marriage Cases.
Conservative religious and legal groups had asked the California Supreme Court to stop its order from becoming effective until voters have the chance to weigh in on the issue.
An initiative that would amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage has qualified for the ballot. Its passage would overrule the court's decision.
The Supreme Court says its ruling will be final at 5 p.m. on June 16.
Wednesday's denial clears the way for gays and lesbians in the nation's most populous state to get married starting June 17, when state officials have said counties must start issuing new gender-neutral marriage licenses.
Do you get the feeling people are getting sick of the anti-gay crowd?
Update: Some comments from yours truly.
This is one of the most important decisions politically in this entire segment of contemporary political history. I haven't read the court's statement, and don't know if they provided a rationale for deciding not to stay their decision, but the effect is going to be, I think, to further undercut the efforts of the far right to overturn In re: Marriage Cases. The referendum on the constitutional anti-marriage amendment is looking less and less like a sure thing, and I suspect a great part of the result this fall is going to depend on the general election. (A point: one reason my support for Obama is lukewarm is his position on same-sex marriage. I don't really care what he believes -- that's not what I expect him to govern on, and it's not what I want him to govern on. We've had nearly eight years of that, and look what it's gotten us. I want him to govern on the law, the Constitution, and the careful consideration of changes to the order and their likely effects -- and what we should be doing to insure the best life possible for our citizens.)
At any rate, marriages are going to start happening on June 17, count on it, and I hope they're as widely publicized as possible. I want the voters of California and the country as a whole to see the happy couples -- and their children, because many of them do have children -- and think about what the right proposes to take away from them. And I also think that by allowing these marriages to go ahead, the court has very quietly taken a stand in favor of equality for all.
And I really am starting to be convinced that people are sick of the Dobson Gang.
Update II:
Also, from NYT:
“This is another 4-to-3 vote for legal chaos,” said Glen Lavy, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund in Scottsdale, Ariz., which had asked for a stay. “The court has not only ignored the will of the people and imposed a redefinition of marriage on Californians, it has inflicted years of legal chaos, quite possibly on the entire country.”
Point of fact: the vote not to stay the decision was unanimous. The decision not to rehear was 4 to 3.
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