Calif. Gay Marriage Fight Centers on Chinatown

Wedding spending, lower health costs help city, he says at trial

(NEWSER) - The Proposition 8 trial took a break from intangibles like constitutional rights and discrimination yesterday to focus on cold, hard economic facts: Gay marriage is a moneymaker, argued San Francisco’s top economist. Because married people are on average healthier and wealthier than singles, legalizing gay marriage would reduce health care expenditures and increase payroll taxes, said Edmund Egan. And the bump in weddings would line the city’s coffers. More»

'Being gay means I'm unequal' under marriage ban

(NEWSER) - The gay couples seeking to overturn the California ballot measure that prohibits them from marrying took to the witness stand on today’s first day in court, with one, Paul Katami, charging that “being gay means I’m unequal” as long as marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman—and thus Proposition 8 violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection. More»

(NEWSER) - California’s gay marriage battle continued today as lawyers for the American Foundation for Equal Rights announced a lawsuit challenging Proposition 8 and called for the restitution of marriage rights while the suit is decided, the Los Angeles Times reports. The lawyers—Theodore Olson, then the solicitor general, and David Boies—were on opposing sides of Bush v. Gore in 2000. They plan to file suit on behalf of two same-sex couples denied marriage licenses because of Prop 8. 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»

(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»