Redefining Marriage - Really!

Not so fast: Calif. group wants gay nuptials put on hold
By Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO - As same-sex couples in California began making plans to tie the knot, a conservative group said it would ask California’s Supreme Court to postpone putting its Thursday decision legalizing gay marriage into effect until after the fall election.

That’s when voters would have a chance to weigh in on a proposed amendment to California’s constitution barring same-sex marriage. If the court does not put its ruling on hold, gay marriages could begin in as little as 30 days.

The Republican-dominated court’s decision, which cited a 1948 California Supreme Court decision that overturned a ban on interracial marriages, said there was no justifiable reason why the state should bar gay marriage.

Gay marriage opponents called the ruling an example of judicial overreaching in which the opinions of a few justices trumped the will of Californians.

“The remedy is a constitutional amendment,” said Glen Lavy of the Alliance Defense Fund, which is pushing for the stay. In 2000, Proposition 22 passed with 61 percent of the voted, strengthening the state’s 1978 one-man, one-woman marriage law. The ruling struck down both statutes.

Backers of a proposed November ballot measure constitutionally banning same-sex marriage said the court’s decision would help their cause by energizing voters.

Twenty-six states have approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. Courts in New York, Maryland and Washington state have refused to allow gay marriage. New Jersey’s highest court gave the state lawmakers the option of establishing civil unions as an alternative. Massachusetts is the only other state to legalize gay marriage, also by judicial decision.

Among the anticipated thousands of Californai gay marriages are talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her girlfriend, actress Portia de Rossi. DeGeneres announced their engagement during Thursday’s taping of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” telling the audience the news that the California Supreme Court had struck down state laws against gay marriage.

Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI yesterday called traditional marriage an irreplaceable good for the entire society, and calls the union between man and woman the “natural cradle” of life.