Grandma, Grandpa, Please Back Gay Marriage

(NEWSER) - Protesters around California are gearing up for tomorrow's state Supreme Court session on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the voter referendum that banned gay marriage, the Los Angeles Times reports. The decision isn’t due for 3 months, but the opinion is already written, and the court's stand may be revealed in the judges' responses to oral arguments, which will be televised. More»

Conservative cast vote for 'doing the right thing'

(NEWSER) - Long characterized as cautious, California’s Chief Justice Ronald George shocked his peers when he joined the majority to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. “I think there are times when doing the right thing means not playing it safe,” the moderate Republican said, calling the case the most difficult one of his 17 years on the court. More»

Supporters, foes now await Nov. vote on a constitutional amendment

(NEWSER) - California gays are ecstatic about the state's supreme court striking down a ban on same-sex marriage, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. “I'm feeling the joy all over,” one gay man, and father, said. In Fresno, a gay couple applied for a marriage license from a somewhat bewildered county clerk who wondered about the “exact language” of the decision, the Bee observed. More»

(NEWSER) - One of California's biggest and most influential gay rights groups says it will delay a ballot push to overcome the state's ban on same-sex marriage until 2012, the Los Angeles Times reports. Equality California, which led the failed effort to defeat Prop 8 in November, says there is too little time to raise the millions of dollars necessary for a 2010 offensive. More»

Opponents of marriage ban sad but not surprised

(NEWSER) - Supporters of same-sex marriage were disappointed but not surprised by the California Supreme Court’s decision today to uphold Proposition 8, the San Francisco Chronicle reports, as a crowd that had gathered at the state courthouse moved through city streets, blocking traffic and prompting arrest. “This is a serious blow on religious freedom, and it opens the door for discrimination against any minority,” said one of the case’s plaintiffs. More»