Nine years after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples
the U.S. Supreme Court
dramatically advanced gay rights Wednesday in rulings that direct the federal government to provide equal treatment to same-sex spouses and allow the resumption of gay marriages in California.
In a pair of 5-4 rulings on the final day of the court's term, the justices struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal benefits to gay couples married under state law, and let stand a ruling that found Proposition 8, a 2008 voter initiative that ended same-sex marriage in California, unconstitutional.
The court tiptoed to the edge of declaring that same-sex marriage was a universal civil right but declined, ruling that each State should decide for itself. However, it would be wise for traditional-marriage defenders to understand that
the battle is over.
You don’t have to have been Nostradamus to have known that the fight for same-sex marriage in the USA and in Europe has been over for twenty years or more.
Meanwhile, now that Proposition 8 has been declared unconstitutional, same-sex weddings in California will probably
resume within a month:
Backers of the ban known as Proposition 8 have 25 days to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. A midlevel appeals court also must lift a hold it placed on the lower court order before the state can be free to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Still, state officials moved quickly to signal their approval. Gov. Jerry Brown, who refused to defend Proposition 8 as governor and in his previous job as attorney general, said he had directed the California Department of Public Health to start issuing licenses to gay couples as soon as the hold ordered by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is lifted.
Soon we'll again be witnessing
scenes from marriages at City Hall. From 2004:
 |
| The line starts at the snack bar |
 |
| Snakes its way past the gift store |
 |
| Into the hallway |
 |
| Clerk's office in the distance |
 |
After getting their license, many get married
right away in this magnificent setting |
[Update - 6/29/13: Well, that was quick. Headline:
Same-sex couples flock to SF for weekend weddings. ]
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