The California Supreme Court has upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, but it also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed.
The decision Tuesday rejected an argument by gay rights activists that the ban revised the California constitution's equal protection clause to such a dramatic degree that it first needed the Legislature's approval.
The announcement of the decision caused outcry among a sea of demonstrators who had gathered in front of the San Francisco courthouse awaiting the ruling.
Passage of a gay marriage ban in a November California vote bucked the state's reputation as a liberal trendsetter and sparked national protests by gay advocates and congratulations among social conservatives.
A flurry of pro-gay marriage rulings and votes in Iowa and New England this year has reversed a trend toward banning them. Most U.S. states do not allow same-sex marriage, but both sides are gearing up for renewed battle, mostly at state ballot boxes.
Some leaders from both sides of the gay marriage issue have predicted that the California justices will uphold the ban but also allow approximately 18,000 same-sex marriages from last summer to stand.
California has an unusually strong direct democracy. Voters can decide virtually any issue through propositions and state constitutional amendments, such as the gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, which passed in November.
That ended gay marriage in California, which had begun in June 2008 after being legalized by the state supreme court.
In the court case, ban opponents argued that the majority cannot vote away civil rights of a minority. Ban proponents countered that the will of the people as expressed by the vote is sacrosanct in the state.
Gay advocates are already preparing a drive to overturn the ban, if necessary, as soon as the November 2010 election. Their opponents aim to duplicate their California success in Iowa by amending the state constitution to outlaw gay marriage, rebuffing the state supreme court which legalized same-sex unions.
Five states -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine and Iowa -- have legalized gay marriage. A handful of others, including New York and New Hampshire, have made substantial headway with such legislation, but more than 40 states explicitly ban gay marriage.
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