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Calif.
Supreme Court Wants
Answers
On Gay Marriage
by
365Gay.com, From the Web, June 21, 2007
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San Francisco, California --
The California Supreme Court has asked both sides in a lawsuit over same-sex
marriage for more information on their positions.
The justices on Wednesday asked lawyers for gay and lesbian couples seeking the
right to marry and the state which wants to maintain the status quo to answer
three questions the court felt were unanswered in briefs submitted earlier this
year.
First, the court asked for a detailed description of the differences between the
legal rights accorded by domestic partnerships and those of marriage under
California law. California has one of the nation's most inclusive domestic
partner laws providing many of the rights of marriage, but not all.
The second question asked for the lawyers' positions on what marriage rights, if
any are enshrined in California's constitution. The question is important
because only a constitutional amendment could alter those -- not the legislature
nor a voter initiative.
That question led to the third, involving Proposition 22, an initiative passed
by voters in 2000. "Do the terms 'marriage' or 'marry' themselves have
constitutional significance under the California constitution," the court asked.
Opponents of same-sex marriage say Prop 22 amounts to a constitutional amendment
banning gay marriage but which LGBT rights groups maintain only bars the state
from recognizing same-sex marriages performed outside California.
The court told the two sides to file their supplemental briefs answering the
questions by July 18.
No date has been set for oral arguments in the case. A final ruling would
come within three months of arguments -- likely early next year.
In April Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the American
Civil Liberties Union filed a joint initial brief on behalf of 15 same-sex
couples and California LGBT rights group Equality California. (story)
The attorneys argue that California state law barring same-sex couples from
marriage discriminates based on sexual orientation and sex and violates the
fundamental right to marry.
The brief cites the California Constitution's guarantees of privacy, intimate
association, and due process.
The California Supreme Court agreed to hear the case after the California Court
of Appeal reversed a decision by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard A.
Kramer finding that barring same-sex couples from marriage unconstitutionally
discriminates on the basis of sex and violates the fundamental right to marry.
Meanwhile, the California Assembly passed legislation earlier this month
allowing same-sex couples to marry despite a threat by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger that he will veto the measure, as he did with the last bill.
The legislation currently is before the Senate.
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