The controversy surrounding gay marriage has heated up again in California, with the State Supreme Court determining that there was no legal reason for the ban to be in place that prevents the union of same-sex parties. The court, with judicial positions held mostly by Republicans, announced that within 30 days couples can begin to tie the knot regardless of their orientation.
Just as gay rights groups were beginning to celebrate the victory, however, groups opposed to gay marriage have put their own legal wheels into action hoping to convince the court to withhold allowing the marriages to take place until the issue can be addressed as a Constitutional Amendment on the November ballots. The feeling from these groups is that the court has overstepped its legal obligations by weighing an opinion that has not been supported by the people of the state. When the issue of gay marriage appeared last on the ballot, which was in 2000, it was unable to be passed, with 61% of the people voting against it. Groups maintain that the courts have misused their power and addressed the issue in a non-democratic way.
However, if the judges refuse to put a hold on the decision then gay marriage will be possible in California within a month. There are 26 states in the United States that have banned gay marriage in their State Constitutions and only one that has legalized it. While almost 10,000 gay couples have wed in Massachusetts, the outcome of the California battle will have a greater impact because of the drastically higher population in that region.
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