Groups would move to oust any high court members who overturn gay-marriage ban
Los Angeles Times Nov 19, 08 9:43 AM CST
(Newser)
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California’s moderately conservative Supreme Court faces pressure from both fronts of the gay-marriage battle, the Los Angeles Times reports. Opponents of Proposition 8—including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger—are collecting arguments for why the amendment should be struck down, while supporters have promised to oust judges who rule the other way. Justices are supposed to ignore such threats, but that may prove difficult.
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Aims to avoid marriages in legal limbo if bill is upheld
Los Angeles Times Nov 18, 08 10:26 AM CST
(Newser)
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As gay-rights campaigners petition the California Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8, the state’s attorney general is urging the court to let the measure banning same-sex marriage take effect. Jerry Brown asked the court to rule on the lawsuits to give the question “certainty and finality”—and wants to avoid marriages that could end up in legal limbo in the interim, the Los Angeles Time s reports.
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Los Angeles Times Oct 30, 08 11:14 AM CDT
(Newser)
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If California’s gay marriage ban passes, “legal chaos” will ensue for those who tied the knot since it became legal to do so in June, lawyers warn. With no court precedents, experts are left guessing whether those marriages would remain valid, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ultimately, the decision would lie with the state’s Supreme Court, which voted 4 to 3 for gay marriage.
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Actor cuts check as California ballot on wedding ban looms
E! Online Sep 18, 08 7:39 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Brad Pitt has become the biggest celebrity ally in the fight to uphold California’s gay marriage law, with a $100,000 donation toward the cause. The law allowing gays to marry could be repealed in November, when Californians vote on the fiercely contested Proposition 8. Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie have vowed not to marry until all Americans have the right to do so, E! Online reports.
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Sides prepare for November showdown
Los Angeles Times Jul 17, 08 9:38 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A voter initiative to ban gay marriage is staying on California’s ballot this November, the state’s supreme court ruled unanimously yesterday, setting the stage for a bitter November battle. Gay rights groups had argued that the proposition was an illegal constitutional revision, and that petitions for the initiative had been misleading. The vote is expected to be a close one.
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Contributions to fight Calif. ballot measure take place of registry
Reuters Jul 15, 08 6:35 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Soon-to-wed gays and lesbians in California are directing well-wishers to hold off on gifts and instead donate money to fight a measure that would nullify their unions, Reuters reports. "The usual notion of a huge reception or acquiring your first microwave is not really happening," says John Duran of Equality California, whose wedding registry site has raised thousands for the cause.
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OPINION
Only Washington can bestow real rights, like spousal benefits
Washington Post Jun 15, 08 6:11 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Gay couples should exchange vows warily in California this week, Joe Matthews writes in the Washington Post . “California—with its dysfunctional politics and government—may hurt the cause of same-sex marriage,” he warns. An upcoming state ballot on gay marriage could cast the issue into limbo for years, and leave couples in "an expensive, time-consuming quagmire—gay marriage's Vietnam."
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OPINION
LAT scribe urges elderly to dis a gay marriage ban in Calif.
Los Angeles Times May 30, 08 9:03 PM CDT
(Newser)
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If old folks in California would come out to support gay marriage in November, a proposed amendment banning it would keel over and die, Joel Stein writes in the Los Angeles Times . The majority of Californians under 50 support it, but only 36% of senior citizens. Which leads Stein to urge oldsters to "take a leap of faith and trust the younger generations on this one." Sometimes social change requires "uncomfortable lurches toward improvement."
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Amendment has majority support, but may not pass
Los Angeles Times May 23, 08 10:01 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A majority of Californians opposes gay marriage, but the margin is very slim, according to a new LA Times poll. For the moment, gay marriage is legal in California, but voters could ban it by approving a constitutional amendment in November. Right now 54% say they support a ban. But a majority also believes that homosexuality isn’t morally wrong.
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Current marriage licenses provide only for 'bride' and 'groom'
Associated Press May 22, 08 6:29 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The recent California Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriages has spawned a persnickety problem: what to do about current forms mentioning the "bride and groom" four times and prohibiting “alterations.” While one official assured the AP of “compliance with the court order,” an activist was less perturbed: “the t's crossed and i's dotted on the form are the least of our concerns.”
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Conservative cast vote for 'doing the right thing'
Los Angeles Times May 18, 08 12:05 PM CDT
(Newser)
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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.
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Conservative groups aiming to have ban back in November
San Francisco Chronicle May 16, 08 4:03 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Organizations staunchly opposed to same-sex unions are already mobilizing to reinstate a ban on gay marriages that was struck down yesterday by California's Supreme Court, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . The coalition intends to hammer home the fact that four judges have "overturned the will" of millions of voters who approved the ban in a 2000 vote, said a spokeswoman for a conservative group in Sacramento.
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Supporters, foes now await Nov. vote on a constitutional amendment
San Francisco Chronicle May 15, 08 5:10 PM CDT
(Newser)
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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.
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Judges, who appear split, have 90 days to rule on ban
Los Angeles Times Mar 5, 08 7:37 AM CST
(Newser)
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An overflow crowd and hundreds more outside a San Francisco courthouse listened yesterday as the California Supreme Court heard arguments on the state's gay marriage ban, the Los Angeles Times reports. The judges appeared split as lawyers argued for more than 3 1/2 hours. One judge asked if domestic partnership did not basically confer the same rights as marriage. "Doesn't this just boil down to the use of the 'm' word, marriage?" he asked.
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