California: It's Legal!

The McFreeds jump up and down and shout about...

The California Supreme Court made it official today, both heterosexual and homosexual couples can now marry in the state of California... and call it marriage!  In a 4-3 ruling, the court defined that marriage is not about tradition it is about creating one's own private relationship with someone else and having the state recognize and protect that union without prejudice. There is a state constitutional amendment pending a vote in November 2008 if it gets the right amount of signatures that could change this ruling. However, in 30 days two people (resident or non-resident) will be able to get married in California as long as they show up in person with a valid ID and the proof of any previous marriage's divorce (if applicable).

This is my favorite part of the ruling... which is 121 page long:

"...our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual’s sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.  We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples."