Via Reuters: Court Rules California Cannot Ban Gay Marriages
In a victory for gay rights groups, a California Superior Court judge ruled on Monday that the state’s voter-approved ban on homosexual marriage is unconstitutional.[...]
“The denial of marriage to same-sex couples appears impermissibly arbitrary,” wrote San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer. “Simply put, same-sex marriage cannot be prohibited solely because California has always done so before.”
Referring to California legal code, Kramer added: “This court concludes that both sections are unconstitutional under the California Constitution.”
In his ruling, the judge said creating benefits for same-sex couples without allowing marriage was not sufficient and referred to the landmark 1952 civil rights decision of Brown v. Board of Education.
“The idea that marriage-like rights without marriage is adequate smacks of a concept long rejected by the courts: separate but equal.”
This not a surprise, nor is it over–the fight will, no doubt, end up in the CA Supreme Court (and maybe beyond).
I also am not surprised by the equal protection argument, although it is unclear from the Reuters story as to the exact nature of the Judge’s legal logic.
Update: James Joyner has more.
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