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Marriage Victory Puts Same-Sex Couples on Defense |
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Post Decision Analysis
By Ryan Gierach (Story first posted in the West Hollywood News-May 19)
The historic decision’s ink had just dried and the same-sex marriage advocates had just begun cheering in West Hollywood, but already those groups opposed to the idea of same-sex marriage galvanized their forces in the battle to amend the California Constitution to ban gay marriage.
Marriage Equality movement leaders reminded the vast crowd gathered in West Hollywood the night of the historic decision, Thursday, May 14, that opponents claim to have collected one million signatures, one-third more than required, to bring an amendment to the Constitution overturning the Supreme Court’s decision to remove the differences between straight and same-sex marriages.
Between 750 – 900 lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and marriage equality supporters assembled at Southern California’s traditional protest point, WeHo’s San Vicente and Santa Monica Boulevards, Thursday to celebrate the morning’s decision.
There they listened to the legal foot soldiers revel and caution as they basked in the historic moment.
Lambda Legal’s Jon Davidson told WeHoNews the next morning, “It was so nice to be there in celebration rather than in sorrow or protest.”
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Lori Jean, the head of the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, sounded the cautionary note several times, even as she, too, introduced her affianced to the crowd.
“We have to raise an awful lot of money to beat back this Constitutional Amendment we’ll be voting on November 4 that would forever enshrine discrimination in our great state of California.
“Get married this summer and fall, but you have enough toasters, have your guests donate to the battle to keep our hard-won equality,’ she said.
Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California told another publication, “It’s going to be the largest, most expensive and most hard fought L.G.B.T. ballot measure in the history of the country.” The estimated cost to both parties, because it can only be played effectively in California’s expensive media markets on television, runs between $10 million to $20 million.
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The Supreme Court’s decision becomes effective after 30 days, but legal experts cannot say with certainty that gay couples might not be able to marry unchallenged before then.
Jon Davidson of Lambda Legal said, “We just don’t know. It may turn out to sooner.”
He pointed out that the changes needed were replacing boxes marked “husband” and “wife” with “Applicant and Applicant” as in San Francisco’s case. Those changes are approved and directed by the State Office of Vital Statistics.
“Once she decrees how to handle it, the counties will make the minor changes. San Francisco is already accepting ‘reservations’ for licenses,” he said. “I believe that all counties will be issuing them in 30 days.”
Domestic Partners under California law remain Domestic Partners. Mr. Davidson said, “The law is still on the books. There is no automatic transfer of status from DP to marriage.
“If you want the nine essential rights and responsibility contained in marriage and not in Domestic Partnership, you must get married,” he said. (Read the complete story here.) Read more West Hollywood News and Views at www.wehonews.com ). (Photo by Ryan Gierach.) _
CityWatch
Vol 6 Issue 41
Pub: May 20, 2008
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