In a long-awaited decision, the California Supreme Court ruled 6-1 to uphold Proposition 8, a measure passed by voters last year to ban same-sex marriage in the state, earlier today

Defending the decision, Chief Justice Ronald George said citizens had the right to define marriage as between male and females only. He stated that same-sex couples have the same core rights as heterosexual couples, but with “the sole, albeit significant, exception that the designation of ‘marriage’ is … now reserved for opposite-sex couples.”

George went on to say that the only way the decision could be overturned would be through another vote. Proposition 8 with a slim majority of 52% last November after a bitter battle between conservative groups and gay rights advocates, who are considering putting the issue to vote again in 2010 or 2012.

The thousands of same-sex marriages made before the passing of Proposition 8 will stand.

While the decision of the people of California to ban gay marriage and the upholding of their decision by the state’s high court is not a defeat. It is merely a delay of the inevitable.

Source: SFGate
Photo: Flickr

There have been quite a news stories online today about gay marriage.

In Maine, a statewide gay marriage referendum was approved as “one of the biggest grass-roots movements” in the state’s history was announced to oppose the recently enacted same-sex marriage law.

In Nevada, the Democrat-controlled legislature approved an amendment that would give same-sex couples the same rights as married individuals. However, Republican Governor Jim Gibbons has announced his plans to veto it. I would imagine a state with such a huge tourist attraction as Las Vegas would see a huge economic benefit from the bill.

Finally, a survey released today regarding Protestant perceptions of gays and lesbians yielded some interesting information:

• 70% of mainstream laity support some from of gay union. This compares to 57% for the general population.
• 65% of clergy held the same view.
• 31% said homosexuality was a choice.
• 55% of clergy said they did not want their denomination to grant same-sex marriages.

Photo: Flickr

Carrie Prejean, the Miss California beauty queen who placed second at this year’s Miss USA, created a storm of controversy with her anti-gay marriage remarks at the April pageant.

According to Star magazine, her mother, Francine Coppola, was involved in a gay affair with Valerie Vetrano, an openly lesbian sales rep.

Vetrano claims that the two broke up after the pageant because Francine wanted to keep the relationship secret, saying “…she was a Christian and that her loved ones would never accept her if she were gay.” She added, “Valerie feels that if Francine had just been open about her sexuality with her family, Carrie would have a better understanding of what gay people have to go through. They just want equal rights”

During a 1996 divorce, Carrie’s father made accusations that Coppola was lesbian. She in turn accused him of being gay.

Star was founded in 1974 as a competitor to the National Enquirer. Given the magazine’s tabloid status, I’m going to conclude that the story is false unless the information is confirmed by a more reliable news source.

Just a few months after garnering criticism for calling gay civil unions “crazy,” GOP Chairman Michael Steele has done it again. At a party conference with weekend in Georgia, the Maryland politician tried to caste gay marriage as a pocketbook issue. According to Steele, gay marriage would put too much financial strain on small businesses:

Now all of the a sudden I’ve got someone who wasn’t a spouse before, that I had no responsibility for, who is now getting claimed as a spouse that I now have financial responsibility for. So how do I pay for that? You just cost me money.

So apparently its ok for hard-working Americans to trade in their rights for the good of business. Steele said portraying gay marriage as a financial issue is one way the Republican Party can repositon itself with voters. Am I the only one who finds this insulting?

What Steele is suggesting is against fundamental human and moral values. He should apologize for his discriminatory comment.

Besides, I have yet to hear any business complain that having to pay health benefits and the like to gay spouses caused a financial difficulty. If marriage is so expensive for businesses, then why let anyone marry?

In other news, a study recently published by UCLA estimates that gay marriage brought in $111 million for Massachusetts over the last five years. A second study conducted by the same group found that young, educated gay couples were 2.5 times more likely to move to the state because of the marriage law.

Photo: Flickr